It Started With Jones
by creecher2012
Summary: JJ/Will! JJ and Will's relationship starting with the episode/case called 'Jones' which is in Season 2, Episode 18. I love them! Rated T for some swear words.
1. Chapter 1

**Please review! :) I have more chapters of this done, just depends on if people like it or not if I post them. Check out my other story, "The Big Game", which is set a few episodes before this and is more JJ/Reid (Not in a relationship though...I like JJ/Will too much to do that haha). **

* * *

Jennifer Jareau hung up the phone with the detective from New Orleans and sighed. He had sounded so distraught and miserable. She was definitely going to try and get this case, although it shouldn't be hard since it's technically considered a serial now.

I called the right people, filled out the right forms, and now my team was sitting in front of me in the BAU room, "We've got a serial killer in New Orleans who killed at least three men pre-Katrina. Until recently, the New Orleans Police Department believed the killer to have died in the storm."

Derek Morgan reached for his coffee while he digested the news, "And what's happened to tell them otherwise?"

Turning around and pointing my remote at the flat-screen, I pulled up more recent pictures, "A fourth body was found in the French Quarter last night. Same MO, young male, throat slashed, eviscerated."

Emily Prentiss shook her head, "A year and a half…that's a long cooling off period, are we sure this is the same unsub?"

I nodded, "He claims to be. He sent a letter to William LaMontagne, the head detective on the case."

Jason Gideon spoke for the first time, "LaMontagne have any leads?"

This was why the detective had sounded so morose. I sighed, "He died in Katrina. His son is actually heading the case now."

Morgan raised his eyebrows, "Huh, that can't be easy."

Our Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner started going over some papers, "Well, we need to go over the evidence for the first three murders and determine the pattern."

Shaking my head, I dropped a bombshell on my team, "Katrina washed everything away in the storm: the three victims we know of, their autopsy reports, witness statements, DNA test results…" I trailed off. They all got the point.

Apparently, all except Reid. He spoke up, "So all we have to go on is the latest victim?" He was fiddling with a pen. I know he only does that when something is on his mind.

I nodded and frowned.

"Until he kills again. Wheels up in 30," Hotch demanded.

Everyone started to pack up their things and leave but I stalled enough so Reid and I ended up being the last ones in the room. He was acting really odd: jumping at things and staring off into space.

"Spence," I put my arm out to stop him from leaving, "You ok?"

He shrugged, "Why wouldn't I be?" and tried to go around me.

I planted myself firmly in front of him, "Hey." He was avoiding my eye contact. "Look at me." Slowly, his eyes came up to face mine, "What's wrong?"

He sighed, "I just have a lot on my plate right now, a lot to think about."

I raised my eyebrows, "Since when has thinking left you acting like this, genius kid?" Reid cracked a smile and I grinned knowing I caused it, "You win this round, Spence, but you won't get away so easily when we get back." I turned so he could pass and patted his back as he walked by.

Reid shot a weak, "I'm scared," at me as he passed.

"You should be!" I called down the hallway after him, causing several people to look our way. He shot me a look because he hates attention. I just shrugged and laughed.

After calling the detective one more time to confirm that we had in fact, taken off, and were coming to help, I started to spread out newspaper articles on the lone table on the jet. I overheard Morgan questioning Reid and then talking about Spence's longtime friend. Maybe he could help get Reid out of this funk. After snapping at Emily and her apologizing for something she said, I decided to intervene.

"These are copies of the newspaper articles on the first murders, dating August 2005. It's all we have to go on." I passed out a copy to each team member. Emily looked dejected and confused. I shot her a look and mouthed 'we'll talk later' when I handed her a copy.

Hotch started stating facts, "He killed three times, stopped for 18 months and then started killing again."

Gideon put his glasses on to read, "You should have Garcia run a list of known offenders in the area, anyone who spent the last year and a half doing time."

"Or anyone who relocated after Katrina and recently moved back." Reid added.

"What is the victimology of killing a mechanic, a real estate broker and a cook? With ages ranging from 22 to 45?" Emily asked.

I held up the latest victim, "And this latest victim is a taxi driver. They just don't seem to have very much in common."

Morgan shrugged, "Besides being male walking the French Quarter late at night."

"Which is notorious for muggings off the main drag," I nodded.

Emily frowned, "Yeah, but this guy isn't in a rush to flee the scene. Slaughter like this takes time."

Reid piped up, "Cotello fantasized that the men he killed were his captives, and that torturing and mutilating them somehow made him a hero."

Gideon was staring off into space, "This city is barely back to life. Something like this could cripple its psyche."

I looked over at him, "So where do we start?"

Hotch turned to me, "Well, with no case file there's only one place we can start: Square one." He held up a picture of the latest murder. "Reid and Prentiss, you two go to the morgue. See what you can find out from the autopsy. JJ, you, Morgan, and Gideon go to the crime scene. I'll start going over the evidence boards and putting them together."

Everyone nodded and then went back to going over the files by themselves. I glanced at my watch; we took off about an hour ago, so that means we have little over an hour to go. Walking back to go get a cup of tea I looked pointedly at Emily and she got up to follow me.

Pouring my tea, I looked down the plane to make sure Reid was occupied, but I still kept my voice low while Emily blocked us from view. "So, you notice Reid, too?"

She scoffed, "How can I not? That's the fourth time he's bit my head off. On the last case, he told the homeless shelter director that the unsub, and I quote, 'could be in this very room as we speak'. She flipped and I was left to clean up the mess. He yelled at me about how I didn't know him that well after I brought it up." She paused, "Which is kind of true but he didn't have to say it like that."

I raised my eyebrows and handed her a mug, "Wow. You don't have to be a longtime friend to notice that."

Emily held her hands out, "Obviously!"

"Well, I'm going to talk to him when we get back to Virginia. Something's wrong and I've never seen him like this before."

She nodded, "Good, he listens to you."

We both discreetly went back to our seats. I spent the last hour of the flight chatting with Garcia on the laptop's webcam about the case, and occasionally other things, like sales in our favorite stores, but one look from Hotch always steered our conversations back on track.

* * *

Walking out in the sun, I led Morgan and Gideon over to the crime scene. A local cop held the crime scene tape up for us to walk under and I nodded my thanks. A young man in a striped shirt with the sleeves rolled up a little was standing in the middle of the alleyway. He was fit and his muscles were just visible under his shirt. He turned when he heard them approach and JJ saw the detective shield and gun attached to his belt.

William LaMontagne Jr. was solidly built and just a tad bit taller than me. His hair was a dark brown, short but not too straight today in this heat, and some scruff was just visible on his nicely-defined face. There were shadows of dark circles under his eyes, showing his lack of sleep. Other than that, he was quite attractive.

Was it just me or did his eyes brighten a little when seeing us walk up? Of course, we're helping solve his late father's case, he should be happy to see us.

He extended his hand, "You must be BAU? Will LaMontagne."

I smiled and shook, "Hi, Jennifer Jareau, we spoke on the phone."

He looked back up at my face with a smirk, "Well ok then!" I paused, confused by his remark, but still had a smile on my face. He just waved his hand and said, "Pictured you different…"

I just stared with a dumb look on my face, I'm sure, until I remembered why we were there and introduced my team members, "Um, these are Agents Gideon and Morgan; this is Detective William LaMontagne Jr."

More handshakes were given as LaMontagne said, "I appreciate you guys being here." He looked down at the ground, "My father was too stubborn to ask for any help."

Gideon nodded, "Sorry for your loss." Morgan and I nodded our condolences as well before Gideon continued, "I understand you received a letter?"

LaMontagne nodded and held up a sheet of paper in a plastic bag, "Yeah, before they were lost in Katrina my daddy received two others. That one came addressed to him yesterday. They passed it on to me."

I looked at the letter, and then back at the detective, "Are you sure it's the same killer?"

Gideon answered me with a frown, "It's a detailed account of what he did with the body." He handed back the letter and then went to take a look around, with Morgan in tow.

I waited until they got a fair distance away before I turned my attention back to the man standing next to me. He looked lean and fit in the button-up shirt he was wearing, along with black slacks. His eyes found mine and there was a glint in them that I couldn't place.

"What did you mean when you said you pictured me different?"

He smirked again, "It wasn't a bad thing. More like a compliment." I raised my eyebrows and he continued his explanation, "Ok, I didn't expect a beautiful blonde woman to be the liaison for the FBI and come down to work on my case. I didn't see that coming at all." He shrugged, "That's why I said I pictured you different."

I blushed. I hadn't seen that coming, either. I just nodded my head and walked over to examine the perimeter of the crime scene. I swore I saw a smile on Will's face before I left, though. I tried to examine a brick wall very closely all of a sudden to try to focus back on the case. I could pretty much feel his eyes boring holes in my back at the moment.

Morgan stated something about hiding out in the alcove and I felt Will's attention change. I heard him say, "Yeah, all four murders happened within a ten-block radius here in South French Quarter."

I started to walk back towards the guys, "On any given night there has to be thousands of people walking through here from bars."

Will turned back towards me, "Tens of thousands. When I first started as a cop, I worked the Quarter. It's like being in the riot squad every night." His voice turned to a more reflective tone, "Every Sunday I'd get off work right around sunrise, wanting to pass out. My daddy would be waiting for me back at my house. Made me drive him around to Frankie and Johnny's for pool with the boys." He smiled.

Gideon interrupted, "Did your father tell you anything else about this case that we need to know?"

He took a deep breath, "He tried to, but you guys should see that for yourself." While he walked back towards his vehicle, Morgan and I looked at each other with confused looks on our faces.

Gideon just shrugged, "Let's go."

We caught up to the detective as he was unlocking his car. I went to get in our black SUV, but Gideon stopped me, "Ride with him. If we get separated you're the only one who has his number and we have no idea where we're going."

I looked over at Will and he gestured to the passenger side of his police car. I hopped in and we were off, headed to wherever this information Will's dad gave him was.

Will looked over at me as we waited at a light, "You're lucky I didn't make you ride in the back."

I tried to look offended, "I wouldn't have gotten in!" I countered.

He laughed, "I do have handcuffs…you wouldn't stand a chance."

I raised my eyebrows, "You would have assaulted a defenseless woman, all because you wanted to feel in control and make her ride in the back of your police car?´

"Defenseless? I saw that Glock on your hip!"

I laughed and shrugged. I had nothing to say to that.

We pulled into a driveway that ended with a house that was in ruins. A tree had fallen and destroyed half of it, and litter and debris covered the yard.

Will shut off the engine and went to open the door but stopped, "You know, you're the kind of girl my daddy would have loved to see me with." Then he got out and shut the door.

I sat in the car for a minute, stunned. What? No one has ever acted like this around me before. Of course, there were the occasional idiots that were drunk in bars that hit on me, but no one has ever outright said anything even close to the things that William LaMontagne has said to me. We've only known each other for what; I looked at my watch, barely an hour? I looked out the window and saw that Gideon and Morgan had arrived and all three men were waiting on me. I tried to compose myself and got out.

Will started to head towards the house with Gideon in tow. Morgan waited for me. "You ok?"

I tried my best to look confused, "Yeah, why?"

He shrugged, "Just asking."

I hurried to follow the others into the damaged house. Gideon held open the door for me and I ended up right next to Will again. We maneuvered our way through the rubble while Will explained, "This wall's still standing where daddy carved the message, right before he died." He stopped when we turned a corner and pointed to the wall, "There's no doubt he's still working from the grave."

All that was on the wall was the word 'Jones' carved into it. The letters were jagged and rough.

Morgan came in and looked around, "Jones; that name mean anything to you?"

Will shook his head, "Nah, I ran it through the database against every offender in New Orleans. You can imagine how many hits I got, but nothing came up in connection with this case."

"But, in your dad's final moments, it was the most important thing he wanted to say," I said.

He walked around a little and sighed, "I learned how to play the drums in this house; grew up with two dogs in this house. All it's gonna be now is the word 'Jones' carved into that wall.

Morgan gestured towards the wall, "Detective, if he had written the unsub's name on that wall, I think you would've found him by now. Jones is the one piece of the puzzle that your dad did know. He trusted you to find out the rest."

Will frowned and looked down, "Yeah, I know it, but I've poured over it a thousand times and I still can't put it together. I can't get it out of my head. It eats at me every day." He stared blankly at the name on the wall, looking dejected.

Morgan started going through some things in the house and I walked over towards LaMontagne, "You ok?"

He looked up at me and nodded, "Yeah…I just don't wanna disappoint him." He flashed me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and then exited the house, joining Gideon outside.

Morgan and I followed him and we all headed back to the police department. This time, our ride was silent. When we got back, it was getting dark so Hotch ordered us all to check in to the hotel and get some rest. We would start bright and early in the morning with all the information that we'd gathered.

LaMontagne would likely be up all night studying the case, but for some reason, I didn't want him to be alone. I hung back when the rest of my team packed up, and pulled Hotch aside, "I'm going to stay for a while and try and help him out." I gestured at the figure in the office across from us that was slumped at a desk.

Hotch nodded, his face stoic, "Don't stay too late, we need you both focused and alert."

I nodded, "Yes, sir. I'll try to get him to go home." My team left and I turned around to open the door to Will's office.

The figure looked up from his slouch on the desk, "I thought you left?"

I shrugged, "My team did. I just thought you might need some help." I settled myself in a chair that was pulled up next to his desk.

Will rubbed his face with his hands and exhaled, "You should really go get some sleep."

I chuckled, "Same goes to you. We've done all we could today. There is nothing that you can possibly do here right now." He frowned and shuffled some papers around on his desk. He was distracted by something and I was determined to get him to open up. "Let's get out of here. Get your mind off the case for a while."

He looked surprised, "And where exactly are we going to go?"

I shrugged, "You're the local. You tell me."

This seemed to cheer him up. He stood up and stretched, "Then grab your coat, hun, and let's go."

We ended up walking to a bar about two blocks away. I had Pepsi and a salad while Will downed some beer and a hamburger. The later the night got, the more he relaxed.

We'd been there about an hour when I decided that my mission had been successful, "So, are you happy I got you out of that stuffy office?"

He grinned and sipped on his drink, "This is slightly better, I have to say. The view is phenomenal." I looked around until I realized he was talking about me. Then I just blushed. He broke the silence before it could become awkward, "So, Ms. FBI? Or is it Mrs.?"

I smiled sheepishly and then flashed him my left hand, "It's definitely Ms. FBI. You would have known by now if it wasn't."

Smirking, he replied, "So, haven't found 'Mr. Right' yet?"

"Not just yet. You?"

"I think you already know the answer to that."

I shrugged, "It gives me something to ask you," I said before the waitress came over with our bill. Before I could do anything, Will had paid and sent her back already. I protested, "Hey, this was my idea!"

"It's southern hospitality, cher. I wouldn't feel right letting you pay for yourself," He laughed.

I gave in, "Fine, but next time I won't agree so easily."

Will said, "Next time?"

I happened to glance down at my watch, "It's like eleven o'clock, Will! We should be sleeping right now."

He got up and threw on his jacket, grabbing mine from a coat rack next to our table and holding it out for me to put on, "Alright, I guess we can head out. I'd say this is better than sleeping, though."

I let my coat hide my smile while we walked back to the police station and to his car. I might have to agree with him on that one.

He drove me to the hotel and put his car in park in the front. I looked over at him before getting out, "Promise me you'll get some sleep tonight?"

He nodded and smiled, "Promise."

"Good." I hopped out of the car and walked up the sidewalk to the door. I noticed he stayed until I was in the building before he left. I laughed and waved from inside the hotel before heading up to the second floor to my room.

Swiping the card and opening the door, I turned the light on before locking it behind me. I heard a groan from inside the room and was instantly alert, before realizing Prentiss was on one of the two beds in the room, now wide awake because of the lights shining in her face. I threw my hand over my mouth, "I'm so sorry Emily! I totally forgot we had to share rooms!"

She rubbed her eyes and looked at the alarm clock before sitting straight up, "What were you doing to be just getting back at eleven thirty at night?"

I shrugged off my coat and started getting ready for bed, "We were just talking about the case."

Prentiss didn't buy it, "Uhuh." She lay back down, burrowed under the covers and was silent until I shut off the lights and crawled into the other bed. Then the questions started, "So, what's he like? Is he nice?"

"He's really nice, Em, but all we did was discuss the case, I swear."

"You better have done more than that to be getting in so late. For God's sake he's adorable Jayje!"

I made a kind of groaning sound and turned my back to her, "NIGHT, EMILY."

She giggled a little, "Well, we'll have a couple more days here. There's still hope for you."

"GOOD NIGHT."


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, thanks to everyone who reviewed! 7, Jjwillbabystar, Jmw,** **CatandBriannaCrimMindsFan** (LOVE your stories! I've read a bunch!),** Allysecrimindfan, BAUGirl05, t0wncalledhypocrisy, and my two guests! I personally love JJ/Will haha. Thanks for reviewing again and there's more to come!**

* * *

We woke bright and early to the sounds of another murder in the Quarter. Everyone but me headed over to the crime scene. I dealt with the media and tried to hold back their inquiries for about an hour before the rest of my team and Will got back. They presented the profile to the New Orleans Police Department because now that we knew the unsub was copying Jack the Ripper, we had more information about what he was like. A charming man with low self-esteem, but dresses the part of a player. Stalks victims for days, maybe abused as a child or involved in a traumatic event. We also considered him having medical training because of the way he cuts around all the organs without touching one.

Garcia found a similar case in Galveston, Texas, where coincidentally, many Katrina refugees flocked to after the storm. Gideon sent Prentiss, Reid and Morgan to investigate. About an hour before they were supposed to leave, I noticed Prentiss hang up her phone for about the fourth time in a row. I went over to see what was wrong.

She looked at me and sighed, "Reid won't answer his phone. That's the fifth time I've called him in an hour. Where the hell is he?"

I looked around the station on the off-chance that he might be here, "I don't know. Maybe he's with Morgan?"

Emily started gathering her stuff up and putting it in her bag, "I hope so. Our plane leaves in less than an hour."

"I'll text him and see where he is. I'm sure he'll show up." Right now, I wasn't quite sure of that fact.

I flipped open my phone and sent him a text.

_Spence, where are you? Em is freaking. Plane leaves in 48 minutes. Be there, please? – JJ_

I stood around for five minutes waiting for a reply. Emily caught my eye from across the station as she was getting ready to go. After I shrugged and shook my head at her, she left for the airport.

I went back to controlling the media, and now consoling the family of the newest victim. He has been the only one with a family to console so far. My phone vibrating 45 minutes later caught me off guard.

_No show. We're leaving without him. –E_

Gideon saw the look of frustration on my face, "What's new?"

"Reid never showed up at the airport."

He raised his eyebrows and shrugged, "He's been through a tough time. Maybe he's with his old friend he was talking about."

I contemplated this for a while. Gideon was still standing by my side. I decided to raise the suspicion I've had for a while. I kept it secret for this long because it's partially my fault…but still. Someone needs to say it.

"You know what Dilaudid does to people. Side effects. Withdrawal symptoms."

He stared down at the floor, "I don't think we've seen any withdrawal symptoms."

I sighed and sank down into a chair, "I was afraid of that."

Gideon quietly walked away without saying another word.

The day went by quickly after that. Several texts to Spencer went unanswered and I was really starting to worry. I was so preoccupied that I ignored all of Will's attempts at flirting, which were plentiful. He noticed something was up and for the second night in a row, I was eating dinner with him. He had brought some paperwork and we were supposed to be working on it together, but he had ordered a beer and we were doing more talking than working.

After 15 minutes of less than normal responses from me, he finally asked the question, "I might not have authority to ask this, but something's up with you."

I took a deep breath, "Just some problems with the team, that's all."

He let a few minutes go by before following up, "I'm all ears if you want to talk. I know it's been bothering you all day."

I rubbed my face with my hands and took a sip of my water before starting, "Its Reid."

"The tall skinny kid? He's real jumpy."

I leaned my elbows on the bar, "Yeah, I know. He hasn't always been like that."

"When did it start?"

I looked over at Will before continuing. He looked generally interested in what I had to say. For some reason, I completely trusted him and I've only known him for two days. His opinion of me might change once he knows how I completely left Reid to fend for himself…but I need to tell someone and get it off my chest. I set my hands down on the bar and clasped them together, "Last month we were in Georgia tracking a serial killer who broke into homes to murder people. Reid and I went to interview a possible witness. We discovered that he was actually the unsub and he found out that we knew at about the same time. We thought he ran into his barn, and Reid and I were going to wait him out until the rest of the team got there. It was late at night and so dark that we couldn't see our hands in front of our faces…"

I noticed my hands were shaking so I gripped my glass of water in my hand, trying not to look at Will. "Reid heard something in the back, so he ran off to investigate. I went in the barn and got attacked by some dogs," My hand reflexively went to my left forearm, where the scars still remained under my jacket. "Reid ran into the unsub, got kidnapped and was tortured for days. It still messes with his head…"

I could tell Will was still looking intently at me. It was silent for a few seconds before he started in, "So, it was your fault he got kidnapped in Georgia because you let him go off by himself? And now he can't even do his job right as a result, so that would also be your fault."

I kept my head down and shut my eyes tight, letting my hair fall over my face. Of course he would think that. Hell, I think that myself every day. I'm sure that's what everyone else thinks too. Reid himself hasn't treated me the same either…they all think it was my fault even though it was Reid's idea to split up. The problem is, I think it's my fault more than anyone.

I was contemplating walking out of the bar to wallow in my misery when something touched my cheek. I jumped and looked up, only to see Will tuck my hair behind my ear. "Of course, I don't think that, but you do, don't you?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "You don't?"

He shook his head, "Sounds like you guys splittin' up wasn't anyone's idea. You said he ran off right?" I nodded. "Well, I've learned enough about that kid in two days. Enough to know that he does what he wants and thinks it's the right thing to do because he's so smart."

I smiled a little at that. Typical Reid.

"So if Reid decided to run off after a noise you heard, I don't think there's anything you could have done to stop him. It was the middle of the night and you couldn't have gone off and yelled after him with a murderer on the loose," Will continued, "Anyway, those dogs probably occupied your mind for a while, too. This was not your fault, girl. It was just a bad situation all around."

I shrugged, "Still sucks, though."

He patted my shoulder as his beer finally came, "Thank you." I raised my eyebrows at him as he directed our attention back to the case at hand, "The French Quarter is one of the only parts of New Orleans that dodged Katrina. Now there's a serial killer loose."

"It's a small area. We're narrowing down the profile. We'll find him." I watched as he stirred his drink before taking a sip, "You always drink when you're still on the clock?"

He scoffed, "This is New Orleans, hunny. It's a cultural thing."

I raised my hands up, "Ooh."

Will took another drink, "Where are you from?"

"Pennsylvania."

He put his drink back down on the bar, "I take it the folks are a little rigid about the rules up that way?"

I just looked at him quizzically and tried to focus on the case.

He stared at me for a second before saying, "If it makes you feel better, we'll play it Pennsylvania style tonight," and sliding his beer a few inches away. I smiled as he continued to talk, "I just hate that this guy has a leg up on us, ya know?"

I leaned my head on my hand, "Look, I promise, as soon as my team knows anything, we'll hear." I gestured to my cellphone that was lying on the bar in between us."

He nodded and seemed to hesitate before talking again, "Why haven't you married?"

I was shocked and made myself laugh a little before answering, "And that involves this case…how exactly?"

He shook his head, "It doesn't. I'm just flirtin'."

I just nodded and tried not to look too surprised.

Will looked back down at the bar and shuffled his papers, "It's unprofessional. You don't have to answer that."

I was just staring at him, trying to figure out what he was getting at, when a bartender came up behind me with a drink. She put it down in front of me and slid it to Will saying, "Compliments of the woman in the blue top."

We both looked down the bar as a young woman with brown hair and a low-cut blue shirt winked and waved. I looked back at him, shocked again. He didn't look too amused.

"Wow, that was bold," I scoffed.

He shrugged, "Well, she mighta thought we were just working."

I looked at the papers cluttered between us before looking back at his face, "We are."

Will's face turned into a smirk, "What, are you jealous?"

"What? No!" I looked back and forth between him and the mystery woman, gesturing wildly, "I'm just surprised, that's all!"

He started to laugh, "And you're a lousy liar, too!" I made a noise and looked down. "Haven't had much practice huh?"

I straightened out my facial features and looked back at him, "It's a 'culture thing' you see," I said, swatting his chest.

His face broke out in one of the most genuine smiles I've ever seen on a person. It was infectious and, even though I was a little mad at him, I had no choice but to smile right along, my eyes darting up to meet his every once in a while. I picked up the drink that the bartender had put in front of me, "There ya go," and put it in front of Will.

My phone interrupted our playful banter. The caller ID said it was Morgan, so I picked it up after the first ring.

"JJ?"

"Yeah?"

"It's Morgan and Prentiss. We think we have something."

"Ok?"

"Is LaMontagne with you?"

I looked over at Will, "Yeah he's right here with me."

"We think the unsub is a woman. What else would make these men leave their groups?"

I pursed my lips together, issued a short 'Thanks' and hung up my cell.

"What's goin' on?" Will asked.

I looked over at him, "The unsub we're looking for is a woman." I then looked around the bar, finding way too many woman that could be the target, including Will's new friend.

* * *

The next day, Will and I split up: he took care of informing his officers about the new development and I was trying to put together information for a press conference. I would have to get permission to hold a conference from Will or one of his superiors. I don't think Will would like me going on TV to talk about his killer though. It hits too close to home for him. I'm going to try to go through him first. I don't want to seem like I'm going over his head.

I got my chance to talk with him when he walked by me on his way to get more coffee. "Hey," I grabbed his attention and walked with him.

"So I updated the department on the new info."

"Good. We need to set up a press conference."

He didn't slow down, "We're not makin' a media spectacle outta this."

I protested, "People need to know that the killer is a woman."

Will suddenly stopped and turned to face me. I hadn't been expecting it and ended up standing very close to him. "What?" I asked.

"Listen, people are just startin' to filter back here."

I was confused, "That's not the issue."

He was staring into my eyes, "I can't create mass hysteria in a city trying to rebuild. Besides we'll be playin' right into her hands."

"So be it," I shrugged. His stare never wavered. Sighing I continued, "Look, I'm trying not to go above your head here."

He took a deep breath and looked around before his eyes returned to my face, "I got that."

I stared right back, "Then set up a press conference."

He walked away from me and went to talk with one of his superiors. That was a start. I went back to Will's desk and starting gathering the information he would want me to say.

There was a commotion in the main lobby of the station and I saw several officers run out. Hotch, Gideon, Morgan, Prentiss and a newly arrived Reid, followed. I noticed Will was absent as well. A couple minutes later I got a text.

_New murder victim. Same thing as always. –Hotchner._

I sighed. When was this going to end? I got confirmation from Will's boss that I could go ahead with the press conference and that's what I spent the rest of the day doing. At around 7:00 that night, my team, including Will, was gathered around a table discussing the day's events.

Reid was talking when I entered the room and I sat down at the end next to Will. I tried to rub the tiredness from my eyes as I listened to him talk, "So, she's still continuing with Jack the Ripper's pattern. This morning she cut an earlobe off of her victim, so she's going to have to kill again to stay the course. This is the only day that the Ripper killed twice."

Hotch nodded, "We should be out on the streets tonight, watching."

"I agree," Gideon noted.

"Ok, Jason and Prentiss, you guys pair up, along with Reid and Morgan. Will, if you don't mind pairing up with Agent Jareau, that would make three pairs to canvass the area tonight."

Will nodded, "Sounds good."

Our stoic unit chief looked around at us, "Be on the lookout for woman that are alone, not in any groups. She's probably confident, or at least looks the part."

We all nodded and split up accordingly. After going back to the hotel for a quick change in attire, I found myself deep in the heart of the French Quarter with nothing but Will at my side. We milled around the crowds in the French Quarter, but I was careful to stay close to him, not wanting to be by myself in this rowdy bunch.

Will stopped walking and leaned in to talk to me, "So, we're looking for a woman who isn't afraid to approach men. Comfortable being the aggressor, huh?"

I nodded, "And I'm guessing she'll have to be quite attractive in order to lure them away." Will looked down at me with a glint in his eye as I said this. "What?"

He smirked, "Nothin, cher," and continued to walk amongst the people.

I walked quickly to catch up, "You gotta admit, these guys are making it pretty easy." I looked around, "I wouldn't follow a stranger into an alley no matter how wasted I was."

"Yeah but you're not a man. Testosterone'll follow a woman to Thailand. Barefoot. It's just a fact."

A man cut in between Will and I couldn't continue to follow. He was gone before I could lay my eyes on whoever had blocked my pathway. "Well, hey pretty lady! How are you tonight?" He was obviously intoxicated. I could smell it on his breath stronger than anyone. He wasn't that much to look at either, aside from the muscles he was trying too hard to show off.

"Just fine until you got in my way," I said with a glare.

The man smiled, "Well, that guy probably didn't like you too much anyway. Where is he now?" He looked around, "Doesn't even know you're gone most likely. Sucks for him." He leaned in closer and I tried to back away but found myself up against a fence. "Hey, there now. Don't look so glum. I'll be just as good as he was, maybe even better..." He reached up to stroke my cheek.

I was contemplating how I was going to get out of this situation when someone came up beside me and put their arm around my waist, pulling me into them. I almost fought them off, but the voice that came from my side stopped me in my tracks.

"Hey, dude. Back off. She's mine." Will's hand pushed him back and the man quickly moved away with his hands in the air.

I relaxed once we got out of the throng of people and my friend wasn't around. Will squeezed me once before letting me go but I didn't move away. I missed the contact.

"You ok?"

I turned so I was closer to him, "Yeah, thanks for that."

He nodded and looked around, "We should probably go find the others and see what they've found."

"Alright."

He moved to reenter the crowd and I looped my arm in his before we got very far. Will looked down at me and smiled. I just shrugged, "Hey, you said I was yours, might as well act the part if that guy comes back."

He laughed, put his arm around my shoulders and led me through the crowd until we came to our rendezvous spot by a fountain. The others were already there when we joined them. Morgan raised his eyebrows at me and Will removed his arm immediately. I ignored Derek, knowing that I'd have to answer his questions, and probably Emily's too, later.

"You guys find anything?" I asked.

They shook their heads and Gideon asked us the same. "Only some bastard looking for a death wish," Will answered.

I laughed as we all walked back towards our vehicles. Will, Gideon and Reid took the lead, leaving me to walk with Morgan and Emily.

"Getting a little cozy with the detective, eh?" Morgan nudged me.

I threw him an elbow in reply, "He wasn't lying. This guy separated us, and then proceeded to hit on me and try to impress me…needless to say, it didn't work."

Emily laughed, "Good thing you had someone to come save you, though." She winked at me.

I groaned, "You guys are pathetic."

They just laughed some more and Emily held open the door to the SUV. As I got in she smiled and said, "There's still be hope for you yet."

I proceeded to slam the door after I sat down.

* * *

**More reviews would be nice :) the next chapter is done...just trying to decide where to cut it off at.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry guys I wrote the heading for the next chapter, realized I hadn't posted this chapter yet, then just copied and pasted to this one...then realized it was wrong haha.  
**

**Hey everyone! :) I just moved into my college dorm on Monday...it's been craziness all week! Loving it though. It might be longer periods in between updates.  
**

**As always, thanks to JMW, Allysecrimindfan, NothingIsPermanant, t0wncalledhypocrisy, jjwillbabystar, 7, lexjl, and CatandBriannaCrimMindsFan for reviewing. (And the guests) It means a lot :)**

* * *

The next day brought another murder discovery and a dejected Will. The entire team was out on scene taking in the surroundings. We weren't more than a couple blocks from where we had been the night before. Will was crouched on the ground next to the victim with his head in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He got up once we approached, "She's mockin' us."

Prentiss put some gloves on, "And she's true to her word."

Reid looked down at the victim, and then turned to the coroner, "Do you have any tweezers?" He was handed a pair and then knelt on the ground. I crouched beside him, noticing what he had.

"What is that?" There was something stuck in the victim's mouth.

Reid was carefully extracting it, "I have no idea." He took it out and unfolded what appeared to be a piece of paper. Then he looked up at Will, "It's a note addressed to your father."

Gideon reached for it, "Let's see it."

_Dear Boss,_

_He wanted it, with a sharp tongue and vulgar hand. Thought you'd like to know another will soon get what he deserves. _

_Yours truly._

Will looked frustrated as we all looked down upon the corpse.

Reid was already analyzing the note, "That's weird. Typically, offenders write letters to be heard. Jack the Ripper flaunted his kills. Only this person isn't doing that, but explaining why she kills."

Emily pursed her lips, "It's possible that she considers herself a vigilante. That the men she's killing deserve to die."

Gideon shrugged and addressed Will, "Maybe she's contacting your father, not because he was the lead detective on the case, but because she believes that he'd understand."

"You think he knew her somehow?"

I turned to Will, who was standing by my side again, "Can you think of a woman in your dad's life who he helped through a tough time? Might be another police officer…I don't know…maybe a prostitute he helped get off the street?"

"Nah, he hadn't worked with prostitutes, since, ahh, since he worked sex crimes."

Reid paused, "The unsub wrote 'He was asking to be ripped, I just couldn't help myself' and 'he wanted it.' What if she's mirroring the man who raped her?"

Will shifted his weight and took a deep breath while Gideon asked him something, "Where are the files from your sex crimes division stored?"

"They're housed the same place as homicide. Most of 'um washed away."

I looked over at him, "Did your dad have a partner?"

Will nodded, "J. Smith. Smitty they called him."

I shrugged, "He might remember something."

He looked dejected at this, "Yeah, but they had a fallin' out."

"What about?" Emily asked.

"I don't know. They stopped talkin' when he left sex crimes. That was nine years ago. The guy didn't even come to my daddy's funeral, so…"

"You have a problem calling him?" Gideon offered.

"Not if it means breaking this case." He looked down at the corpse again and we all stood in silence. Will started to crouch down, but then looked up at me, "Hunny, may I borrow your hand for a minute?"

I crouched down beside him, and he took my hand in his, reaching towards the victim's arm. I grabbed it and he turned my wrist so he could see a stamp on back of the victim's hand. "I'll be damned," he said.

Prentiss was squinting to see it, "What is it?"

Will looked up at her, "The stamp on the victim's hand? It's admittance to a bar on the French Quarter." He let go of my hand and stood up.

"Oh yeah?" Reid said.

Will looked over at Gideon, "Yeah. Nine years ago it was called Jones."

"Bingo," Gideon whispered, then raised his voice, "Get Garcia on the phone." I realized that comment was directed at me once everyone filed out of the alleyway. Standing up and stretching my legs, I dialed my number 1 on speed dial.

"Oh Captain, my Captain," I heard as I walked away from the victim.

"I need you,"

"Anything, talk to me."

"Are there any newspaper reports about a rape in a bar called Jones?"

I heard fast typing and some beeping on the other end, "Zilch."

"You sure? It would have been about nine years ago."

More typing, "Nada."

I tilted my head back and ran my fingers through my hair while I drew a deep breath, "Ok…ahhh…cross reference William LaMontagne with Jones bar."

More dinging, "Bullseye. Police responded to a disturbance at a bar in the French Quarter, February 19th, 1998. Looks like it was during Mardi Gras."

I smiled, "You are the best ever!"

I knew Garcia was grinning, "Aww, and you're the most perceptive!"

I hung up and walked back to the team to tell them what I found. We went right from there to the bar in question; while Will called a few people to make sure his father's partner would be there when we were.

We walked into the bar; I was right behind Will when he extended his hand for a man to shake. He didn't shake it. The man's hand remained on his glass while he shot daggers at Will with his eyes. I moved a little closer behind him.

"I hope you've got good reason to be drudging this crap up."

Will tried to smile, "Well, I was hopin' you might remember being called here with my daddy nine years ago."

He narrowed his eyes, "That a joke?"

Will stared back, "No."

Gideon spoke up, "My name is Jason Gideon and we're from the FBI. We're investigating a series of murders in the French Quarter."

"What's that gotta do with me?"

Prentiss piped up from behind Gideon, "We need you to tell us what happened the night that you and Detective LaMontagne answered a call from this bar."

The detective just kept staring at Will. He squirmed under the scrutinizing glare, "Am I missin'somethin'?"

"You really don't know, do ya?" He paused, "After that night, your daddy tried to bring me up on sanctions."

"Why?'

"It was Mardi Gras. Some girl claimed she was raped…in this bar." He shook his head, "I wasn't buying it."

I spoke for the first time, "What did she say happened to her?"

He ignored me, "Brass backed me up. They ended up transferring your daddy out to shut him up."

Prentiss tried again, "What happened here?"

Again, ignored. "That almost cost me my career."

Gideon tried this time, "Do you mind telling us what happened?"

He answers Jason, of course. I rolled my eyes as he stood up, "My best recollection is that she said she was at the bar with two friends. One of the boys asked her if she wanted to play some pool. Witnesses claim she was up for anything."

He drifted over to the stairway, Prentiss started to climb once she saw a sign that said there was pool upstairs, "She followed him up here?"

The man nodded, "His friend not far behind her. She knew he was there." He didn't follow her up the steps, "That girl was a tease. She was looking for a good time. You can't blame a couple guys for goin' along with that."

I spoke up from my position behind Will, "Did she yell out for help?"

He still didn't look at me, but he didn't ignore my question this time, "Said she did, but not a single person heard it."

Prentiss frowned and looked over at him, "That's what you registered as a disturbance?"

The man scoffed and sat down at the bar, "It was Mardi Gras. Listen to me, that girl had enough beads around her neck to jewel a small city. Anyone exposes themselves that many times in one day is not a credible witness in my book."

Will started putting the pieces together, "But she wanted to press charges."

He shook his head, "I told her it was a waste of time. I knew one of the accused. He was a good kid. He didn't need the stink of that accusation."

I rolled my eyes again and looked over at Will. Gideon sidled up next to the bar and sat down, "So you protected a rapist?"

He put down his drink that he had picked up and sighed, "Well, that right there was a bone of contention between his daddy and I." He pointed at Will, "As far as I'm concerned, no such 'rape' ever took place. Now you wanna tell me why you went and dragged this dirt back through my life?" He took a swig of his drink.

Gideon looked at the three of us still standing, and then back to the detective, "You know the serial killer that's cutting up men in the French Quarter?" He nodded. "She was your victim."

The man looked down at the ground as Will addressed him, "We're trying to find a name."

He shook his head and Prentiss leaped at the opportunity, "You don't even remember her name?"

He glared up at her, "It was nine years ago."

"What about the name of the 'good kid' that raped her?" I asked.

Back to ignoring me, he took another drink.

Will stepped up to the bar, "Smitty, you tell me right now or I'll file a new sanction against you and I guarantee you, this time it'll stick."

I was surprised at his tactic, but impressed at the same time once the name came out of the detective's mouth.

* * *

That same afternoon found us back at the police station interviewing said rapist. Emily and I were heading the interview.

"Mr. Tibeto, we need you to answer some questions about a disturbance you were involved in in 1998." Emily asked from where she was standing on my left side. I was sitting across from the 'good kid' with my arms folded against my chest."

He shook his head, "I dunno whatchu talkin' 'bout."

"At a bar called Jones," I added. His eyes turned to search my face. It took all I could not to walk out of this room and tell Morgan to have him. "It was Mardi Gras."

He laughed, "Well I musta been drinkin' or somethin' cuz I don't remember a thang."

Prentiss leaned down on the chair next to me, "We just need to know the name of your accuser."

"Look I told you, I don't know whatchu talkin' 'bout."

I sighed, "The statute of limitations is up. We just need a name."

Sitting down in the chair next to me, Prentiss settled in, "Someone accuses me of rape? I'm gonna remember her name."

Scowling, "Well what can I tell you, cher? I guess she didn't make that good of an impression."

Emily smiled and lowered her voice, "Unlike yourself, right now."

He leaned in to face her, "Well I'm guessin' if someone did do something to that girl that night, that she was probably askin' for it. Maybe even liked it." His face was full of malice.

I got up and grabbed the crime scene photos before turning back and throwing them on the table. I sat down on the edge and spread them out so he could clearly see each one, "She murdered these men." I paused, "I'm guessing it's only a matter of time before she works her way back to the one she really wanted to kill."

He looked up at me, a hint of fear in his eyes.

"She make an impression now?" Emily asked.

"Sarah Danlen."

I shot up and out of the room, getting Garcia on the phone before the door was shut.

"Work me."

"We have a name: Sarah Danlen. I need an address."

"1141 Sherman Avenue. It looks like she was a med student at Tulain," I grabbed a legal pad and jotted everything down, "but she dropped out. "

"Let me guess, February of 1998."

Garcia confirmed my suspicion and I thanked her before hanging up. Will had come up behind me while I was on the phone. I handed him the notepad, "We got her."

* * *

Pulling up to an old apartment building, I was right behind Will as Morgan, Hotch, and Reid took the front entrance. Reid pulled back to see if there were any other ways in and Will followed. I moved to follow also but Will stopped and pressed his hand against my bulletproof vest. "Stay there." I almost didn't listen but I decided that four people were enough to do the job. I stopped in my tracks with my gun at my side as the men cleared the building. I heard Hotch and Reid both yell 'Clear!'

I waited outside a few minutes until they all came running out. Will pointed to his car and I got in. He started it hurriedly and took off, "Thanks."

"Any particular reason I couldn't go too?" I asked.

He shrugged as he whipped his police car around a corner, "You didn't need to be in there,"

"Huh," I looked over at him as he wove through traffic to a place called The Ruby Inn.

Will looked over at me before I got out, "Jennifer?"

I sighed, "Hotel rooms are small. I'll stay out here."

He grinned and went with Morgan, Hotch and Reid to end this.

I heard Hotch call for an ambulance from the earpiece buzzing in my ear. I also heard Will step up to the plate and disarm the unsub. He carried her out and placed her in one of his squad cars, then looked around. I met his eyes and he visibly relaxed, then went over to his car and leaned against it. I waited until the stretcher came out to go over and talk to him. After checking in on the victim, I sidled up next to Will. He was too deep in thought to notice.

"Hey."

His eyes met mine again, only there was no spark that I was accustomed to seeing, "Hey there." He sighed and looked at the ground again.

The ambulance doors shut behind us, "The medic says that our victim is going to be ok." He only nodded, so I prodded further, "I heard what you did in there. Your dad would be really proud." He looked up at me and I smiled and patted his shoulder.

"It's weird. I spent all this time on closin' this case for him and now it's over."

I nodded, "Yeah…"

"I thought I'd feel happy but I just feel lost," He turned to me with a half-smile on his face.

Shrugging, I said, "You gotta move on."

He leaned in to me, "Well, now you're leavin'? How will I survive with a woman like you goin' so far away?" His smirk was back and his eyes were glistening as we were so close.

I blushed and turned away. Looking back at him, his stare hadn't wavered. I pulled a business card from out of my pocket, "Well, despite what you may have heard," I held it out to him with the back facing up, showing my cell number scrawled on the back, "Cellphones can be very good for your health." I smiled, still blushing as he took it, his hand lingering on mine a fraction of a second longer than necessary. "See ya," I said as I turned to walk away. His eyes never left my face.

I joined the rest of my team gathered together by one of our SUVs. Hotch was clearing up a few last minute things before he joined us as well. "Ready to head out?"

We all nodded, and then piled into the SUV. Stopping by the hotel to grab our go-bags, we made quick time to the airport. Our jet took longer to prepare, but in an hour we were all packed in and ready to go. I sat down across from Hotch and settled in.

I smiled, reliving the moment when I gave the cute, hard-working, and adorable New Orleans Detective, William LaMontagne, my cellphone number. Not only that, I had flirted with him too. Well, to be honest, he had started it…What had I said? Something about how cellphones can be good for your health? How had she come up with that? Jennifer Jareau doesn't flirt with men, let alone partners on cases. Well, technically they weren't partners anymore, so that solved that problem. Now there was one thing left to dwell on.

Would he call?

Sure, I liked him…probably more than a lot. We seemed to hit off right away, well at least he'd started flirting right away. I was wishing more and more by the minute that he would call as soon as I landed. That would be extremely late, and I'm guessing he'll wait a couple days…

Resolving myself that I wouldn't hear from him immediately, I curled up and leaned against my seat, closing my eyes.

I was roused from my sleep when Morgan got up and walked past me to the jet's bathroom. Looking around, I saw Emily, Reid, and Gideon were knocked out in various places around the plane. Hotch was going through some files at the table across from me. I looked at my watch; we had about a half hour until landing. Getting up, I stretched and made my way to the little kitchenette and made a cup of tea, then went to join Hotch with the paperwork. There wasn't much left to do, just some last minute write ups and evaluations of what had occurred.

Morgan came out of the bathroom and saw that I was up and about, "So, you and LaMontagne, huh?"

I looked down and shuffled the papers into a neat stack, "I don't know what you're talking about."

He laughed, "You keep telling yourself that."

If looks could kill. Morgan got the hint and sat down by Emily, waiting for our descent to start. Hotch gathered up the papers on his half of the table and cracked a smile, "He was a good asset for us, that's for sure."

I looked up at him, "He's good at his job."

Hotch nodded and dropped the subject just as the plane shifted downward. I was glad for the distraction and started packing up my stuff. I reached across the hallway and poked Reid in the side, "Time to go, Spence."

He rubbed his eyes and nodded, sitting up. Reid picked up his book that had fallen on the ground and grabbed his messenger bag. Morgan woke up Emily and Gideon. In five minutes, we were all on the ground, headed back to the BAU to retrieve our cars and go home for the day. We were back in the bullpen in ten minutes.

Garcia came out of her little cave to welcome us back. She had already packed up for the day and was ready to leave when we did. There were a few papers I needed to send in to Strauss, but other than that, I was free to leave. My phone was finally getting signal back from the plane ride and it buzzed with a new message. Walking back from Strauss' office I frowned. It was almost 11:00 at night, who would be texting me? Flipping open my phone, I saw it was from a number that wasn't in my contacts, but one that I recognized from so much use the last couple of days.

_Text me when you land? –Will_

I smiled. Guess that solves the problem of him not calling, huh?

"What are you smiling at, blondie?" Morgan was too observant.

Stumbling over my words, I tried to make up an excuse, "Um…my mom just texted me and told me about my niece's birthday party this weekend."

"At 11:00 at night?"

"My phone just got service back, nosey."

He held up his hands in defeat. "Ok ,ok!"

Emily and Garcia laughed as they walked over to the elevator, "You learn quick, don't you?" Prentiss observed.

"I'm not stupid!" Derek countered.

I smiled, "I love you all, but there's only so much of you I can take in a week." The elevator doors opened out to the main floor and I turned back to wink at my team that was still standing still. "Have a good weekend guys, see you Monday, bright and early."

Emily's heels clicked against the pavement as she walked over to her car, "I can't wait!"

Garcia laughed as Morgan walked her to her vehicle, "I love you Jayje, maybe we can do brunch Sunday?"

I nodded and held up my cell as I hopped into my little car, "I'll call you."

Sitting down in the driver's seat, I replied to Will's text.

_Just leaving the BAU. About to hit the hay. –J_

I sent it, and then started my car, starting the 10 minute drive out to my apartment. I was parked and walking towards my door when my phone rang again.

_Sweet dreams. Talk to you tomorrow? –W_

I opened my door and locked it behind me. Dropping everything but my phone a few feet from the door, I went to my bedroom to put my pajamas on. Not before replying, of course.

_I don't know, can you? I'm free :) –J_

I brushed my teeth and then crawled back in bed and plugged my phone in on my nightstand. I was turning my phone down to silent (except if the Bureau called) when I got another text.

_Funny girl, are you? –W_

Laughing to myself, I sent a quick reply and then curled up in bed, willing to sleep until noon the next day.

_I try. Talk to you tomorrow. Not too early though. A girl needs her sleep. –J_


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Thanks to 7 and CatandBriannaCrimMindsFan for reviewing that last chapter…This one is more Reid-centric to fill in some holes…but I promise the next one jumps right back to JJ/Will…I think you're going to enjoy it :) I just got done with my first week of college, so I've been super busy, but now it's Labor Day Weekend and I get five days off haha. Hope you enjoy this!**

* * *

I woke when the sun stretched across my bed. Looking at the clock, I saw it was 11:30. I should probably get up. Rolling out of bed, I slowly walked to the bathroom, rubbing my eyes. Another thing I should probably do was go for a run…but I'm more of a night runner, so I can put that off until later.

I changed into some running shorts and a t-shirt and started to clean my house. It desperately needed to be done. When I was finally satisfied with my work, it was 2:00 in the afternoon already!

"Huh, guess that was overdue." I said to myself. I went to grab my phone off my nightstand where I had left it the night before. I had one text from Garcia today.

_Brunch at 10:00 tomorrow? Usual place? –PG_

I smiled before sending my answer to confirm our date. Looking around my house, I wondered what I was supposed to do for the rest of the day. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten yet. After putting some popcorn in the microwave, I walked into my living room to pick out a DVD. Turning on the TV, I realized that the U.S. Women's National Team was playing some international friendlies. That beats a movie any day.

I sat down, armed with popcorn and the remote, ready to cheer on my country…before remembering that I was supposed to talk to Reid when we got back. I flipped open my phone to text him.

_Spence. I think we need to talk. Everyone's worried about you –JJ_

I only had to wait about five minutes (during that time Abby Wambach had scored against the powerhouse that was Spain) before I got a reply.

_I talked with Gideon. I'm fine. _

I sighed. He was so stubborn sometimes.

_Can I just come over and see you then? I feel like I haven't really talked to you in weeks. - J_

Another five minutes (and a returning goal for Spain) and I got my reply.

_Door's open._

That was my cue to go over to his townhouse. We only lived about five minutes apart and are probably the closest in proximity compared to the rest of the team. Lately, we haven't hung out as much as we usually do. I kind of regret letting us drift apart now.

I ended up driving to his house, leaving my popcorn and my favorite game behind. I would sacrifice a lot for Reid though…knocking on his door, I heard some classical music playing, so I just walked in. It was unlocked.

I walked through his apartment until I got to his study. Reid was sprawled out on a couch, reading something in Russian…at least I think that's what it was. He sat up once I walked in. "What?"

I frowned and sat in an armchair by him, "Well hello to you too."

He put his book down and sighed, "Sorry, but I already had this talk with Gideon yesterday and today is supposed to be my day off."

I shrugged, "I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I was really worried when you missed that plane."

"I was with a friend."

"Then why did you lie and say that you had no cell service?"

He shot me a look, "Why do I have to tell you everything I do?"

"You don't. I was just wondering."

Silence descended between the two of us. Before, we wouldn't mind sitting alone for hours upon end, him reading and me watching a movie or something like that…we didn't have to speak to enjoy each other's company. Now, the silence was deafening, making me uncomfortable and for the first time ever in Reid's company, I wanted to leave. Now.

"You sure you don't want to talk?" I prodded, hoping he would say no so I could leave. He looked up with a glare. "I'm guessing that's a no…" Back to his book. "Reid, why did you even tell me I could come if you were going to act like this?"

He sighed and slammed his book shut, "You pretty much invited yourself. Would you have stayed home if I told you to?" I didn't answer. "See? You would have come anyway. To discuss, what, exactly? My life problems?"

"I already said I just wanted to make sure you were ok!"

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm fine before you believe it?"

"Until it's actually true."

"How do you know it's not?"

"I know you, Spence."

"Not well enough to know I didn't want you to come."

I got up to leave, "Well fine then!"

He wasn't done, "And you didn't look that concerned about me in Louisiana, anyway. LaMontagne had your focus from day one."

My face got red, "He did not! I would like you to know that I really was worried about you. He noticed that I was wondering where you were!"

Reid looked furious at this statement, "And what'd you do, Jennifer? Tell him my life story? That' I'm a drug addict?"

I was taken aback. Reid doesn't act like this, "What? No, I didn't!"

Reid stood up. "You told him something. He treated me differently after you went and had lunch with him."

Getting angry, I replied, "So what if I told him some stuff? I was worried and he actually cared. It was nice to have someone to talk to that doesn't get defensive and ignore me!"

He walked over so he was inches from my face, "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that I was kidnapped and tortured for days, injected with drugs that I didn't want, and then forced to dig my own grave. I'm sorry that I haven't been the best listener lately because I've been dealing with all my issues. Thanks for having my back in Georgia by the way. That was great."

I stopped responding. That one hurt. He knows I regret letting him go that day. I've only told him a million times. My phone vibrated in my pocket. Loudly. Reid heard it.

"Oh, go ahead and answer that. It's probably LaMontagne you know. Make sure to update him on our current status."

I just stared, wanting to smack that smug look off his face. After I was sure my dirty look had sunk in, I wordlessly left the room and his apartment. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing me slam the door. Five minutes later and I was back on my couch watching the game. The popcorn was set aside and I wasn't as excited. Tears fell from my face as I remembered Reid's cold stare inches from my own as he accused me. I opened my phone to see who I had to thank for getting me out of that situation.

Will LaMontagne.

_Hey, you free to talk?_ _–W_

That had been ten minutes ago. I was contemplating whether or not to reply when my phone buzzed again, longer this time. He was calling.

I sniffed and tried to pull myself together before answering.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself. What's wrong?"

I sighed, "Just Reid again."

"When we last talked about Reid, it didn't end with you crying. What happened?"

Trying to avoid the question, I said, "You didn't call to hear me complain about my problems on the phone."

"You're right. I called to talk to an amazing woman I met this week. I'm talkin' to her right now. Spill."

I sniffed again and started, "Well, it can't get any worse so I guess I can enlighten you. I went over to his house today to talk, and it ended with us yelling at each other. Then I left."

"And now you're in tears…" He trailed off, knowing there was more to the story.

"He was pissed because I told you so much," I blurted out.

He groaned, "Ahh, that was my bad, hon. I guess I did treat him differently…I didn't want him to have a reason to be upset over anything."

Exhaling, I continued, "He also thanked me for my support when we were in Georgia," The tears flowed again and I started to babble, "He knows I regret that. I've told him so many times. I wish I would have gone with him. I wish I had been kidnapped instead. I wish I'd taken Morgan with me to interview him. I wish..."

Will cut me off, "Hey, hey, hey. This wasn't your fault. We've already discussed this. Let it go. What's done is done, hun."

I tried to calm my breathing down, "He hates me."

"I highly doubt anyone can hate you, cher."

"You don't know me that well."

"I've learned enough to know that I'd never hate you."

His words hung in the air. I had no idea what to say. But Will, again, took care of that for me. He always seemed to know the right words when I was speechless.

"So, what were you doing before you went over there, anything interesting?"

I smiled a little, "Eating popcorn and watching Spain vs. United States actually."

"Wow, that's really entertaining." He drawled, "Here I was doing paperwork, thinking I was boring."

"Hey! It's an international competition!" I turned up the volume on my TV, "And we're winning 2-1!"

He laughed, "Uhuh. So, when are you comin' back down here so I can show you what a real good time is?"

"I came to you last time; I think it's your turn to travel."

"Oh really? So when is this happening?"

"When are you free?"

"Well, this week I have Friday off to start my weekend early."

I raised my eyebrows. That was quick! "Really?"

"Pick me up at the airport Friday night?"

"It's a date."

"I'll be looking forward to it all week," He said.

"Me too," Someone knocked on my door, "Gotta go."

"I'll text you later with the details. Talk to you soon, hun."

I smiled as I walked to answer my door and opened it. Reid was standing on my front porch. I stopped for a second, just staring. Then remembered I was still on the phone, "Um. Talk to you soon. Bye." I hung up and stood silently, waiting for him to start.

"Can I come in?"

"Depends. Is it going to end up like last time?"

He shook his head and looked at the floor, "I hope not."

I stepped aside and closed the door after he entered. After that, I collapsed on the couch and curled up, leaning my head towards the one other chair in my living room. Reid took the hint and sat down, twiddling his thumbs a little during the awkward silence.

He eventually started to talk, "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have said those things. First of all, it definitely wasn't your fault in Georgia. I was the one who suggested that we split up. I've just been so tired of everyone walking around on eggshells near me. I guess it was just too much and you were the one that was unfortunate enough to be around me when I exploded…" He trailed off.

"I'm sorry I pushed you so much to talk. I knew you didn't want me to come, I just needed to see that you were ok."

He smiled, "You were being a good friend, JJ. Something I apparently need lessons in."

I frowned, "You've had a tough month."

Shrugging, he continued, "Our little conversation made me realize that I needed to really talk to someone. Gideon just talked to me about this job…I told him that I would never miss another plane again."

"Good," I said with a nod.

He exhaled loudly, "I trust you Jay. More than anyone else. You know that right?" I nodded again, wondering where he was going with this. "You guys probably are worried where I'm getting more Dilaudid…how much I'm using…when I'm going to stop…if I'm ever going to stop…" He looked up at me, waiting for confirmation.

"You're a strong person, Spence, and you're also smart. I know that."

"I stole some bottles off of Tobias after I killed him. They've lasted until now, but what am I going to do when they run out? That drug is like my lifeline right now, JJ. I feel like I can't function without it…"

I stood up to go grab a sheet of paper off of my desk a few feet away, "You'll probably hate this idea, but I think you should get help from someone other than me." I sat down on the end of the couch that was closer to his chair. "The Bureau has meetings for these things. It's all anonymous of course." After scrawling down the name, I handed him the paper, "I think you should go."

Reid started fidgeting, "I don't want people to think I'm weak…or damaged…or unfit to do my job…"

"Spencer, you are one of the strongest people I know. No one is going to think you're unfit to work. Why do you think they have to have meetings like this in the first place? You're not the only one going through this." He looked up at me before taking the paper I had extended. "Go to one. If you don't think it helped, don't go back. Trust me on this."

He got up, folded the paper, and put it in his pocket, "Sorry for wasting your time…"

Standing, I pulled him in for a hug, "It wasn't a waste. Text me later if you want to talk about anything else." I squeezed tightly before letting him go and following him to the door.

His hand on the doorknob, he turned around, "Thanks, JJ. Sorry again for being an ass earlier."

Laughing, I said, "You're fine, Spence. See you Monday," Before he walked out the door.

I was just about to close it, when he stopped, "JJ, was I right earlier? About who called you?"

I just replied with a "Bye, Spence," Before shutting the door. I heard him laugh before I had it all the way closed, though.

* * *

The rest of my Saturday passed uneventfully. I finished watching ESP vs. USA (with us Americans winning by three goals to one), then decided to go for a short run. I ended up running back to my house in the rain because I had neglected to check the weather before my departure. It was sprinkling at first, but once I got in my driveway and up to my porch, it started to rain buckets. I had just stepped inside and locked my door when it started thundering. Flashes of lightning followed, lighting up my now-dark house.

Walking to the bathroom, I tried to strip off my soaking clothes without getting water all over. I was partially successful…there was only a little trail of water from my front door to bathroom. I showered and put on some pajamas even though it was only six o'clock. Picking up my bag from where I'd dropped it the night before, I pulled out some case files and threw the rest in my laundry room. I'll wash the clothes later and pack a new go-bag tomorrow.

I sat down at my kitchen table, turning on the news for the night while I sorted through my files.

One was about an arsonist in Southern San Francisco…we wouldn't be going there anytime soon, since there was only one family killed. Four bodies, but only one fire. It wasn't serial yet.

The next was in Chicago. This one looked more like mob hits: four local men, known gang members, all dead in a week.

The last file I brought home was the most promising, but there was little evidence to back it up. A detective from Kansas City had called me on this one. He said that there were at least 50 homeless people that had just disappeared from the streets. The only problem was we needed to be invited by his superiors.

I sighed and put all three of them aside. The caseload never got smaller and the cases never got better. Sometimes, I was overwhelmed with the choices I was expected to make.

Should I take my team to a case with dead or missing children or to a case with a spree of 25-30 year old males being chopped up and discarded in the local river? Do I want to console grieving mothers or inconsolable wives?

My decisions affect lives. I'm fully aware of that. Cases vying for my teams' attention, I choose which is more important. More specifically, who is more important.

That gets pretty draining.

My phone buzzing brought me out of my thoughts. I flipped it open to find yet another text from Will.

_My flight is supposed to land at 7:00 Friday night. –W_

I smiled. I almost forgot about my date night.

_How long will you grace my presence for? –J_

He texted back almost immediately.

_I booked another flight for Sunday afternoon. Ok with you? –W_

Almost a whole weekend to myself with the cute detective from New Orleans? I could live with that.

_Sounds fantastic. : ) anything in particular you want to do? –J_

I shuffled the files together and put them on a table by my door, ready to go come Monday morning. After popping a TV dinner in the microwave, I curled up on my couch again, and turned on some CSI: Miami. I opened my phone, remembering that it vibrated while I was in the kitchen.

_Doesn't matter to me, hun. I'll be happy with whatever –W_

I had some ideas…but I had no idea whether he'd enjoy them or not. I didn't even know him that well yet. I picked up my laptop and turned it on, hoping to decide on something to do on Saturday.

_I'll surprise you then. –J_

I searched for date ideas for a couple hours before finally choosing one that I thought he'd like. I went to bed with a smile on my face, anxious for Friday to arrive.

* * *

**Remember to review! It really does make me want to crank another chapter out faster when I get more reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five…I hope you guys like it ;) haha. Please don't stop reviewing! And I don't mind constructive criticism every once in a while, either. :)**

**As always, thanks to ****NothinIsPermanent****, ****CatandBriannaCrimMindsFan****, t0wncalledhypocrisy, 7 (I'm a HUGE USWNT fan…JJ used to play soccer…makes sense right? ;) haha), and ****lexjl**** for reviewing! It means a lot!**

* * *

I had parked downtown and was walking to Garcia and I's favorite breakfast place, enjoying the nice weather, when I pulled out my phone to turn it down. A message popped up on my screen, from none other than Will.

_You know, I do love surprises ;) –W _

I smiled before opening the door to Minnie Soprano's, the local restaurant known for its' amazing breakfast dishes. Penelope was in the back, next to a window: our usual spot.

"Hey, PG," I said as I sat down across from her.

"Hello, doll face! Don't you look bright and cheery this morning!"

I shrugged, "I've had a good morning, I guess."

We ordered our food and caught up on each other's gossip over coffee. Once we got our breakfast, the subjects changed from Garcia's new outfits and my niece's soccer team to the new girl on the team, Emily Prentiss, and how Reid's been acting lately.

"I don't know about you, Jay, but I like her a lot. Derek won't admit it, but she's the only one he lets make fun of him without retribution. She's so funny!"

I nodded, "She's really nice and a great asset to the team. She also deals with Reid's jabs at her like a champ."

"Did you talk to junior G-man yesterday, by the way? Emily said something about how you were going to have a chat with him when you guys got back."

"Yeah we had a chat alright…" I trailed off.

She stopped cutting up her pancakes to look at me, "What happened?"

I sighed, "Nothing that we didn't resolve. He's fine though. I think I convinced him to go to one of those meetings that the Bureau holds just for FBI agents…"

"That's good, Jayje! He always listens to you. It's cute," Garcia was beaming.

Shrugging, I picked up some syrup, "We've known each other for a long time."

"Well I'm glad he listened. I love that kid."

"You love everybody, Pen."

"So!" She scoffed as she poured syrup on her plate.

I just laughed, "That's why I love ya."

She smiled and after that, our meal was over before we knew it. We were standing out next to Garcia's car hugging each other when she brought up an unusual subject.

"Jay, we need to get you a man. Seriously, you're perfect. There's gotta be someone out there that's perfect for you, too, right?"

"Why the sudden interest?"

She shrugged, "Well, I don't know. Meet anyone perfect recently?"

I sighed, "Who told you? Was it Derek?"

She started stammering, "Who told me what? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

I smiled and opened her car door, "If it was anything serious, you know you'd be the first to know, PG."

She got the hint and got in the driver's seat. "I'd be the first to find out, at least," She shut her car door with a wink.

Walking back home, I thought back to the events of last week. We traveled down to Louisiana, I met with William LaMontagne, and we solved his father's case. I've literally only known this man for one week, and yet he's flying up to spend the weekend with me? Knowing what I know about serial killers and everything else in my line of work, I hardly think this is safe. Although, he is a detective and I highly doubt he's dangerous.

What am I thinking? Just because I don't know much about this guy doesn't mean he's a serial killer! I shook my head as I approached my house. Sometimes, the job is hard to shake.

After unlocking my door and walking in, I opened up my laptop and relaxed on my couch. I checked my email to make sure that the basketball tickets I had ordered came through. I was planning on taking Will out to a game, then hitting up a bar after. I got the vibe that he was a sports guy, only I didn't know what sports…I hope he likes basketball.

I spent the rest of the day getting my go bag ready for the case that we would more than likely be getting. I also caught up on some financial paperwork for the team: why we used the jet, what hotels we stayed at, etc.

I got a call from the BAU later that night informing me that we would be flying out to solve a case in the morning. The only good thing about this case was that it was in California…and I love that state. The bad part…there have been two fires that have killed two whole families, all during a three week period.

As I was settling in to bed, I got a text from Will.

_So, any new cases this week? –W_

I replied with the news I found out today.

_South San Francisco. We leave in the morning. –J_

Apparently he was worried about our date weekend because he responded,

_Will you be back by Friday? I can always do next weekend. –W_

I chuckled before setting my alarm clock and texting him back.

_You think it takes us a week to solve cases? –J_

I hit 'send' and then drifted off to sleep.

* * *

That week dragged on, probably because I was looking forward so much to the weekend…or it could have been because of the gruesomeness of this particular case.

Our only witness to start off with, Charlotte Cutler, died within hours of our arrival. Prentiss later informed me that Hotch stayed with her until the very end. I thought that was touching.

Before her death, Charlotte gave us insight onto how long the killer/arsonist remained in the house. She said she saw a fireman, when in reality, she saw the arsonist. Hotch skillfully deflected her questions about the rest of her family, now deceased. She lived long enough to answer some questions, but then quietly passed away.

After Charlotte's death, I figured out that the unsub was probably using a company car. We took that theory and ran with it, presenting a profile to the local police. Garcia pinned both victims to companies that were on the "L.U.S.T." list, otherwise known as Leaking Underground Storage Tanks.

Another family obliterated, another father connected to L.U.S.T., we decided to talk to the head honcho: Evan Abby. After some Intel gathering, Abby led us to the suspect. Hotch found out Abby had cancer. Turns out he had nothing to lose.

We left California with a dead unsub and a dead Abby.

It hit Hotch the worst. He had tried so hard to save Abby, but in the end, all he could do was watch as the building he was in went up in flames that were impossible to put out. The plane ride was almost dead silent on the way back.

* * *

We got back that Thursday, so I had a whole day to ready myself for the weekend. I was more excited then I let on. I'm pretty sure Garcia could tell something was up though, I'm assuming that's why she asked so many questions about my weekend. She had been at it all day, and was not even close to giving up, even though we were in the elevator headed down to our cars at the end of the day.

"So, you're still not going to tell me why you're looking so peachy today?"

I sighed, "PG, I told you already, I'm going to see my mom tomorrow."

"Mmmhmmm...," She tisked, "Sure you are."

I pulled her in for a hug before the elevator doors opened, "No worries, Pen. If it was anything more exciting you'd know."

She raised her eyebrows, "Would I?"

"Of course!" I scoffed as I walked briskly to my car. I waited until her restored masterpiece of a car disappeared from the lot before I turned the opposite way from my apartment.

It takes about ten minutes to get to the airport from the BAU, and traffic was light so I made good time. Will's flight didn't get in until six, and I got there at five thirty. I sat down on a bench across from arrivals and waited. I'd been there about fifteen minutes when I saw someone walking up to me out of the corner of my eye.

William LaMontagne in the flesh.

He was in a flannel button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up like the first time I'd seen him. He also had a messenger bag slung across his shoulders and was grinning from ear to ear.

I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to hug him or not, so I just gathered my things and stood up. Will answered that question when he brought me in close to his chest and squeezed. He let go and smiled even wider, if that was even possible.

"Hey, hun!"

His smile was infectious, "Hey Will, ready for an amazing weekend?"

"You bet!"

I looped my arm through his and led him out of the airport, "Well, welcome to Quantico, Virginia…we don't have all the charm that New Orleans has, but I like to call it home."

Will looked down at me, still smiling, "I think it has a lot of charm right now."

I blushed and pointed to my car in the lot, "Let's go then."

The basketball game went off without a hitch and I found out that it was one of Will's favorite sports. I was still getting play-by-plays when we were on the way to a sports bar afterwards. He had informed me several times that this was, by far, the best date he's ever been on that a girl had planned and we were only halfway done. Over the course of the night, we both had a little too much to drink, and we ended up calling a taxi to drive us back to my place.

We got back to my apartment at about midnight. I was trying to be upbeat but, in reality, I was exhausted and I felt a headache coming on. It took all I could not to just collapse on the couch. I managed to get some blankets out for Will and set them on the couch before I crashed. He laughed when I sprawled out on the couch.

"Is it past someone's bedtime?"

I nodded and groaned, "I'm beat. This week was exhausting."

He picked my feet up and sat down underneath them on the couch. "You never really told me how that case ended up. What happened in the end?" I had told him bits and pieces of the story, but never felt like explaining how it had turned out. I felt like my team had failed.

I sighed, "We figured out who the unsub was at about the same time Abby did. Hotch also found out Abby had cancer…he ended up taking out himself, the unsub, and a contaminated property that had just been rezoned for an elementary school. Abby knew it and blew the place up."

Will started running his fingers up and down my calf, "His choice, cher."

"Still sucks. Hotch didn't take it very well. Morgan had to literally restrain him from going into that burning building after Abby."

He looked surprised, "Aaron Hotchner? I've never seen him be anythin' but serious and stoic."

Frowning, I said, "Not many people see anything other than that." I yawned afterwards and Will started tickling my feet. "Hey!" I said as I started to squirm out of his grasp.

He grabbed onto my legs and grinned, "You looked so sleepy, so I figured you needed some waking up." His hands slowly traveled farther up my body making me squirm until he stopped at my sides.

If I was sober, I would have been freaking out at this point, but I had had enough drinks to take the edge off. I was laughing so hard, tears were running down my face. I had an iron grip on one of his wrists, trying to get away. He got up and straddled me, pinning one hand down to my side while still tickling my ribs with the other.

There was no way I was going to get out of this one. I'm so ticklish, it's pathetic. You can basically just look at my feet and I giggle. Will seemed to figure that out pretty early and was laughing along with me. I finally got one hand free and pushed against his chest to no avail. There was no way that I was going to overpower him.

An idea suddenly sparked in my head.

Instead of pushing against him, I grabbed his shirt and pulled. He wasn't prepared for that, but stopped his face inches away from mine, his hands frozen while I tried to catch my breath.

"Finally," I panted, smiling, trying to catch my breath.

A smirk popped up on his face, "You'll pay for that."

I raised my eyebrows, "Oh really?"

His face lowered a little more, "Really."

"How so?"

All I got was a 'ssshhh' before his lips met mine. I learned that looks are deceiving as I felt his amazingly soft lips. He was gentle, probably trying not to push me further than I wanted to go. I moved my hand up his chest to his face, caressing the stubble that had grown there over the course of the day. His hand was wrapped up in my hair, his thumb stroking my cheek. I felt his tongue brush against my lips and I parted them, letting him gain entrance. This was not my first kiss by a long shot, but it was by far the best. Will was caring and wasn't like other guys who just kissed me because it was something to do.

We must have been at it for a couple minutes before he pulled back, both of us gasping for air. I giggled, "William LaMontagne, do you usually take advantage of girls on the first date?"

He smiled down at me, still breathing heavily, "I think you started it, actually."

I shook my head, "You tickled me. That's definitely starting something you don't want to finish."

Will leaned down and kissed my forehead, "I liked finishin' it a lot, to tell you the truth." I blushed as he rearranged himself on the couch. I was unprepared for what happened next as he scooped me up into his arms. "So, where's your room?" He asked.

I froze, I wasn't THAT drunk. Did he think that's why I invited him here? I wasn't prepared to do that. I'm not the kind of girl that sleeps with a man that she's only known for two weeks. Hell, I'm not the kind of girl that KISSES a man that she's only known for two weeks.

His stuttering interrupted my thoughts, "That's not what I meant, hun. I…umm…you were tired right? I was just goin' to carry you to your room, I promise. I'm sleepin' out here tonight."

Relaxing, I laughed a little and pointed down the hallway in front of us, "Last door on the right." He carried me down the hall and into my bedroom, laying me softly on my bed. I grabbed onto his shirt before he could stand back up, "To be honest, I'm not really that tired anymore, though."

He laughed before grabbing my hand and kissing it, "See you tomorrow, bright and early."

I groaned, "Hell no! It's Saturday, I'm sleeping in!"

A grin cracked across his face, "Alright, I'll give you till nine." He winked as he left my room and shut the door.

* * *

I woke the next morning with a pounding headache. The sunlight stretched across my bed and caused a lot of pain as I opened my eyes. I yanked the sheets up over my head, surrounding myself in darkness. I was just about to drift off again when I heard movement in the bathroom across the hall. It took a few moments for me to remember who was in my house and why.

Then it took a few more seconds to remember what we did.

I flung the covers away from my face, which was probably ten different shades of red. I kissed him! That's only the second time I've seen the man and I practically jumped him! What's he going to think now that we're both sober? Will he think that I'm just a fling? That I'm easy? That I'm not serious?

There was no way I could go out to face him. Maybe he'll leave…a day early…but did I really want that? I truly enjoyed his company last night, but did I screw things up?

A knock on the door interrupted the battle that was going on inside my head. I contemplated feigning sleep, but Will opened the door a crack to see if I was awake. My wide eyes took in the tray of food that he was balancing on his free hand.

"Ready for breakfast, hun?"

I was speechless, so all I did was nod.

He came in and sat down on the edge of my bed before laying out the feast that he had made. Chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and some hash browns to top it all off. I sat up and leaned back against my headboard pulling my covers around me. I kind of smiled as he placed a plate of food in front of me before sitting cross-legged across from me with his own plate. There were two coffee mugs on the tray still, he pointed to the one closest to me, "If I remember correctly, you prefer tea to coffee, am I right?" He grinned. I just nodded, still silent. Maybe he doesn't remember what happened…he had drunk a lot of beer…

Will frowned, "You OK this mornin', cher?"

I finally plucked up the courage to speak, "Uh, yeah…headache…" I pointed to my skull with one hand while I picked up a fork with the other.

He laughed, "I already took some pills for that. Last night was great, wasn't it?"

Then he winked. At me. There's no way that he forgot last night. I dropped my fork on my plate and held my face in my hands, feeling like an idiot. Sighing, I tried to think of a way to broach the topic without making an even bigger fool of myself.

I felt Will get up and thought he was leaving, but seconds later his arms enveloped me as he sat at my side. "What's wrong?"

Looking up at him, I didn't know what to say…that I was sorry for being a stupid drunk? I couldn't face him, so I just stared down at my plate of food.

Will pulled me in closer, "Talk to me, hun."

I exhaled and leaned against his shoulder. I might as well use his support while it's here. "I'm sorry about last night…"

He put a hand under my chin and made me look at him. He had a confused look on his face, "Sorry for what? That was the best night I've had in a long time."

I frowned before just blurting out what I was feeling, "I was drunk and I pretty much forced you to kiss me! We've only known each other, what, two weeks? This is only the second time I've seen you…I don't want you to think I'm a whore or something that jumps anyone that comes into my house…I feel so stupid…" I was rambling, waving my hands and gesturing wildly, trying to get my point across, ignoring Will saying my name every couple of seconds.

All of a sudden he yelled, "JJ!" which took me by surprise. Then he took my face in both hands and turned so we were facing each other. "Stop talkin' so much." His murky blue eyes bored holes into mine. Then his lips found mine for the second time in less than 24 hours.

I was surprised and tried to pull back. He stopped kissing me and moved about an inch away from my face. "You're not forcin' me Jen. You're definitely not a whore…and I don't mind if you jump me whenever I come here." He winked as his thumb rubbed circles on my cheek.

I stuttered, trying to explain away my behavior, "I…uh…I don't…do this very often."

He smiled, his eyes glistening, "I got that."

Trying to look away, I felt my face get red, but he held me steady, "I'm sorry…I was just embarrassed, I didn't know what you would think of me…"

Smirking a little he kissed my forehead, "You wanna know what I think of you right now?" I raised my eyebrows, still a little nervous. He leaned in, but didn't go for my lips, instead his mouth ended up right next to my ear. "I think you're beautiful…" He whispered, before kissing my cheek and pulling back a little farther. I couldn't help the 'aww' that escaped my lips. Then I hurriedly covered my mouth. He smiled, "It's true." I pulled his hands down from my face and held them, looking down at how they were entwined. A smile was creeping across my face. "Hey," I looked back up at him, "You want to eat breakfast now?"

I nodded, looking over at the feast he prepared that had been forgotten, "It looks delicious Will."

He squeezed my hands before taking up his spot on the bed across from me, "Dig in then!"

Laughing, I did as I was told.

* * *

**Again, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! I love getting those emails that say there's a new review for my story! (And the new follower/story alert doesn't hurt either)**

**I think I'm going to go episode by episode...but filling in the bits and pieces in between of course...most of the time I think I'll just do a brief summary of the case (like in this chapter) but the ones that have JJ playing prominent roles I might do more in depth...ideas? questions? concerns? REVIEW! or shoot me a PM! I reply to those, ya know. :) Have a good week!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this has taken so long…but I am a college kid now…at the moment I'm writing the next chapter for this instead of studying for my quiz tomorrow…yay procrastination! You guys better like this chapter all the better because of what I'm sacrificing to write it ;) **

**Thanks to lexjl, CatandBriannaCrimMindsFan, 7, t0wncalledhypocrisy, narwhayley , NothingIsPermanant and my guest for reviewing… :)**

Before I knew it, it was Sunday night and I was at the airport again. We had spent the weekend touring around some local hot spots and just enjoying each other's company. I had relished the feeling of not having anything to do but relax and having Will by my side just added to my good mood.

Right now, we were just sitting in the airport, waiting for Will's flight to be called. Sooner than either one of us would have liked, the flight to New Orleans, Louisiana was boarding. We both stood up and I sighed, wishing the weekend could have lasted longer.

Will swept me up in a hug and whispered in my ear, "See you soon, cher." I wrapped my arms around him, taking him in for the last time in, who knows how long. He left a kiss on my forehead and then was walking away from me.

"Text me when you land?" I called out at his receding figure.

He turned around, "Of course," and then disappeared in the crowd of people heading for the plane.

I headed home and arrived rather quickly. My house seemed empty. I picked up the blankets that Will had neatly folded on the couch and threw them in the laundry room so I would remember to wash them. Then I started to go over some paperwork from the Bureau about some new regulations that we would have to follow. We were scheduled for a briefing in the morning.

I got lost in my work and honestly jumped when my phone rang, hours later. It was about 10 at night and I should probably head to bed soon, but I answered anyway.

"You know, you should really be sleepin' hun."

I smiled and leaned back in my chair, recognizing the voice, "It's only ten!"

I heard laughter from the other end of the line, "Well, my flight just got in. You can go to sleep now. I know you were waiting up because you wanted to hear from me, so you can rest assured that I'm home safe."

This time it was my turn to laugh, "Oh thank the Lord that you're safe! You were completely right, I was waiting for you to call and tell me that you were just fine. Now I'll get a lovely night's sleep."

"Good. When are we doin' this again? It's my turn to be the host."

I got up and started gathering my paperwork so I'd be ready to go in the morning, "It really all depends on when we get cases and such. This week should be pretty slow because we're learning some new regulatory things…but you never know."

"Well, I guess we'll have to put a definite weekend on hold for now…but just so you know, I'm going to keep bugging you until you come down to visit!"

Walking to my bedroom, I smiled, "Is it sad that before that case, I'd never been to New Orleans before? I'm definitely not forgetting, especially now that I have a host that can take me everywhere."

"You just tell me a day, hun, and I'll be ready."

I sighed, "I hope that day is soon."

"Me too. Good night, have a good day tomorrow."

"You too, Will. Talk to you soon."

I hung up and plugged my phone in after setting an alarm for the morning. In five minutes, I was curled up and tucked in to my bed, thinking over the weekend.

Will had definitely taken a step back after I freaked out on him Saturday morning…I still feel stupid about that. He probably didn't want to seem like he was pushing me to do anything, but he didn't really even have anything to worry about…we never kissed again. The most he did was kiss my forehead, which was a huge step down from what he had started off with…I sighed, thinking about what might have happened if I had just kept my mouth shut and acted naturally. Who knows!?

I fell asleep soon after I was able to shut my brain off and relax.

* * *

That week went by slowly, culminating in a video that was supposed to inform us of new policies and procedures on Friday morning. The majority was about how we were supposed to conduct ourselves with the media (which I should have been paying attention to), and some new paperwork that would need to be filled out after each case. I wasn't really listening. Emily and I were both leaned back in our chairs playing Scrabble on our tablets with each other. Gideon was busy scrawling away in a notebook and Morgan was talking to Penelope. Reid and Hotch were the only ones really paying attention to the video we were supposed to be watching, Reid because he genuinely wanted to and Hotch because he had to.

I got an instant message from the opposing player.

_I NEED COFFEE! BRB. ;) _

Emily then got up and went to pour herself a cup, looking out the window as she did. I laughed to myself, put my tablet down and half-heartedly tried to tune back in to the conversation. Emily caught my attention again as she dropped her mug loudly on the table and just walked out the door.

Hotch stopped the video and got up to look out the window in the general direction Emily had been looking. He frowned.

I got up to see for myself. One of the assistants was ushering in a brown-haired woman, dressed all in black. She was holding a purse and looked like she thought a lot of herself. She was with two other women: another about her age with short reddish hair, and a younger woman. Emily was practically running to meet them. I still didn't understand and looked up at Hotch with a confused face.

"Ambassador Prentiss," He whispered without looking down at me.

Ambassador Prentiss? That would mean she's…Emily's mom! I saw no resemblance even when they were standing side by side.

"I'll go see what this is about," Hotch turned around and motioned to Gideon, "Jason, will you take point?" He nodded and then Hotch walked out of the room.

Gideon resumed the video, although you could tell no one was paying attention now, not even Reid. I watched as Hotch led the four women into his office and closed the door.

Morgan looked up at me, his brows furrowed. I shrugged, "Emily's mom is here with two other women."

We sat and watched the movie for about five more minutes until my cell phone buzzed with a text message.

_Come in here, please. We may have a case. –Hotchner_

I hopped up and was in his office in seconds. The first thing I noticed was the bloody finger lying on Hotch's desk. I must have made a face because Emily led me right back out the door I came through.

"Listen, a man that used to work for my mother has been kidnapped. His name is Mr. Chernus. Those two in there are his wife and daughter. We need to get clearance to work on this case. They live in Baltimore." Emily was talking rapidly.

"I'm on it," I said before rushing off to my office. I called some people, pulled some strings, probably made a few police officers angry, and finally had permission to work this case. It'd been five minutes.

I reentered the bullpen and saw the team surrounding the table once again with the addition of the three women. I walked in when one of our crime scene analysis workers was trying to take Mr. Chernus' finger. I nodded to Hotch to confirm that we had permission to move on, and then sat down to his right. Reid and Morgan were examining the paper that had come with the finger. I didn't see how that was much help to them, seeing that it was in Russian.

The daughter, Natalya, translated for us word-for-word. They were supposed to wire 100 thousand dollars to a Russian bank account by tomorrow at noon. If they didn't, they would receive another body part then, and every six hours after, at least that's what the note described.

Garcia was trying to get information from the bank account, but she wasn't familiar with the Russian system. Ambassador Prentiss left to see if some old contacts could help her out. Hotch then sent Morgan, Reid and Gideon to Baltimore and Natalya asked to tag along. After they left, I went to work trying to get a translator up here. After calling half a dozen people, I had one on the way and I went down to the lobby to meet her and bring her back up.

I had briefed her on the basics of the case when we walked up to Hotch, "Agent Cramer is meeting the others in Baltimore. This is the translator, I've already briefed her."

He nodded, "Will you introduce her to Mrs. Chernus?"

I pointed the translator in the right direction and started introductions. She was better at it then I was, and soon I left. I mainly ran a communications line between my team and the local police. Agent Cramer was with Gideon, Reid, and Morgan and I was in contact with the rest of his department. Garcia was hard at work trying to decipher the Russian bank system and Emily was with her mother.

We all worked hard for a couple hours trying to do our best to get Mr. Chernus home. The note had said 'tomorrow at noon' but had been found yesterday. That made today the day. At around ten I went back out to try and console Mrs. Chernus. There was about two hours left until the demands had to be made and she was a wreck. I saw Emily return from helping her mother, but she looked grim.

All of a sudden, I heard a tapping behind me. Emily was rapping on Hotch's window from the inside and motioned for me to come in once I turned around. I walked up the steps and shut the door behind me, "Did your mother find out anything?"

Emily shook her head, "That's not what this is about. They didn't wait until noon. Morgan just called and said that a boy came to the house with Mr. Chernus' ear and a note that said they want 500 thousand and they want it by one."

I exhaled, "That escalated quickly. What was the stressor?"

Emily shrugged. Hotch interrupted, "We need to tell her." Then he motioned in the direction of Mrs. Chernus.

Nodding, I said, "I'll go bring them in to the briefing room." Then exited the room.

I watched from outside as Hotch broke the news. She collapsed in to the translator's arms. Looking around, I noticed Emily at her desk digging at her nails. I've learned from the past few months that she only does that when she's really anxious. Her mother came up to talk to her, so I went off to Garcia's lair. She was still busy trying to decode the Russian data, so I took up a spot on a table behind her. There was really nothing left for me to do.

"Do you think we'll save him?" I asked after several minutes of hearing nothing but Penelope typing furiously on her keyboards.

"I honestly don't know, Jayje. This one is tough."

I knew that was hard for her to think, her always being optimistic and all, so I left it at that.

A few minutes later, Emily came rushing in with an envelope in her hand, "My mother got this from one of her contacts in Moscow. He told her to give you this and that you'd understand."

Garcia ripped it open and started typing away even faster, if that was possible. Emily was amazed at the way one thing after another started popping up.

My phone rang. It was Morgan.

"JJ!"

"Yeah?"

"Go look in the cooler."

I was confused. Why did I need to see that again? "What?"

"Look in the cooler."

Quickly, I walked over to the briefing room. Mrs. Chernus was gripping the cooler while sitting at the table. I had grabbed a box of tissues on the way there and set them down in front of her, "Mrs. Chernus, I need to look in the cooler."

Hotch looked up at me questionably.

I mouthed, "It's for Morgan," before turning back to Chernus.

After a few rapid spouts in Russian, Mrs. Chernus shook her head rapidly.

"Tell her I'm not going to take anything, I just need to look." I smiled politely.

A few more lines of Russian, and she nodded her head. I held up the cooler out of her sight and opened it. Hotch was right behind me.

There was nothing in the cooler but ice.

I nodded and gave the cooler back before walking in the other room to inform Morgan. He groaned and hung up.

Emily came bursting out of Garcia's office saying someone had paid the ransom. Hotch was on the phone with Gideon in seconds trying to figure out what was going on.

In the end, we found out that a local Russian mafia leader had paid all the ransoms for these types of kidnappings in the area. Natalya ended up dead. Chernus was found at his house.

Mrs. Chernus was torn between losing her daughter and finding her husband. It was awful to watch.

Emily had left earlier, so it was just Garcia, Hotch and I left. We saw Mrs. Chernus off to the airport and then Hotch called it a day. We just had a few papers to fill out (according to the new regulations that no one had listened to) and then we could leave. It was only a little past two when I finished.

By then, Morgan, Reid, Emily and Gideon were back, so we finished our briefing from the morning. It was mostly just a ruse to keep people from bugging us after our stressful day. Hotch was filling out paperwork at the head of the table, Reid and Morgan were playing cards, Penelope was playing some game on the internet, Emily and I had Scrabble going again, and Gideon was in his office.

I was bored, so I decided to text Will. It was almost three in the afternoon, so I hoped that he wasn't very busy.

_Hey. How was your day? Hope it was less stressful than mine. –J_

After a few moves in Scrabble, my phone started to blink, indicating a new message.

_Pretty boring. I didn't get to arrest anyone or do anything fun ;) Why was yours stressful? –W_

I laughed when I read it. Emily looked up from her tablet to see what I was reading. Morgan was sitting right next to me and saw it was a text message, "Who's so funny, blondie?"

I typed out a reply and shut my phone, "My niece just sent me a picture from her dad's phone. She was about an inch away from the camera."

_We just had a gruesome case. One of those ones that you can't decide whether it ended well or not. –J_

Penelope grinned, "I love little kids!"

Morgan still had his eyebrows raised, "So, how was seeing them last weekend? At her birthday party?"

My mind was blank. Who said anything about my niece's birthday? It wasn't until January. It was then that I remembered that she was my ruse for last week's text from will. Funny how I've used her as an excuse twice now.

"It was fantastic! I love being around my family, you know, Derek," I made up.

He just nodded, "Mmhmm. Sure ya do."

Emily tapped the tablet sitting in front of me, "Hello? Can we finish our game? I'm kicking your ass."

I smirked, "Sorry, Em. Someone was distracting me."

Derek held up his hands with a grin, "Oooooh, my bad. Sorry I was distracting you from the VIDEO that we're supposed to be watching."

"You're not watching either! You and Spence are playing cards!"

Spencer piped up, "Can we get back to that, by the way? I'm also kicking YOUR ass."

Emily and I laughed before we all got a glare from Hotch. We settled down after that. We didn't watch the video, of course, we were just quiet.

Our Scrabble gamed ended with a come-from-behind win from yours truly. Our game was done right about the time that Hotch got fed-up with the video briefing.

"Everyone get the gist?"

We all nodded.

"Alright, then this is going off." He shut off the TV and went to return the DVD to Strauss.

Everyone loosened up after Hotch left. We love the guy, but he's always so strict and grim. It's depressing being around him 24/7. I'd rather see him outside of work, because he's a totally different person, especially with Haley. I want to have a relationship like theirs someday. I know Haley gets a little ticked off sometimes because of our work hours (She even calls me sometimes when she can't get ahold of Hotch…) but I really believe that they adore each other. Whenever Hotch talks about her, he gets this look in his face and his eyes light up…it's so sweet.

Morgan pulled me out of my thoughts, "So guys, night out tonight?" He was shuffling the cards and making one shoot out at Reid every so often. Spence couldn't catch one.

Emily sighed, "I need some strong alcohol after today. I'm in."

I smiled, "I second that."

Morgan looked over at Reid and Penelope, "You know I'm in, my dark chocolate angel."

Reid just shrugged, "I don't have anything else to do."

Clapping his hands together, Derek jumped up, "Well that settles it! I'll go see if boss man or Gideon wants to go and then we're off!" He darted out of the room.

Emily and I both plugged our tablets in to charge while we waited for Derek to come back. Reid was busy picking up the mess of cards on the table and the floor. Garcia was squealing something about how it's been way too long since we've all gone out together.

Morgan came back in and shook his head, "They're two party poopers." He held out his hand to Garcia, "Shall we go, princess?"

She giggled and led him out of the room, "Vamos, my knight in shining armor!"

* * *

**As always, please review! I'm thinking about starting another story...probably set after the wedding in Season 7 but before Emily leaves (love that girl…she was my favorite behind JJ)…I write so much for this story that I get in a rut and never want to write haha. I try my best though. Have a good week!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I KNOW I KNOW I'm an awful person! What has it been, months? I had tests and work and college and then I had finals and now with the holidays I've been so busy! Life just gets in the way, you know? ;) I left this one extra long because I felt bad haha. I hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays hope you guys have a great new year! I'll try not to suck so much next year, but I'm not making any promises. Thank you to all who have stayed with me, even through my awful updating schedule :)**

**Thank you to narwhayley, NothingIsPermanat, my guest, CatCrimMindsFan-CMCrazies, t0wncalledhypocrisy, 7, and jmw for reviewing! Means a lot that you've stuck with me!**

* * *

I woke up the next morning with a pounding in my head. I really need to stop doing this to myself. We had stayed at the bar for hours, just talking and laughing and having a good time. We eventually ended up playing pool, Reid and I against Emily and Morgan…Garcia just liked to watch. Spence and I made it halfway through the first game before revealing how much we kick ass. With Reid's talent for figuring out angles and my pool shark abilities? There was no way we were going to lose.

I was just regretting the beverages I had along with the ass-kicking I dealt out right about now. I rolled over into the sun, groaning, and stuffed my face into a pillow.

My phone shrieking made me jump. I tried to lean over to my nightstand to reach it, but I ended up sliding off my bed and onto the floor with a thump. Curling up in a ball and facing away from my window while silently thinking up a stream of swear words in my head, I flipped it open to answer.

"Hello?" I tried to sound like I hadn't just woken up with a hangover.

"Well hello, beautiful. Don't you sound fantastic?"

I groaned when I heard Will's voice, "I just woke up with the worst hangover I've had in years, and then fell off the bed because someone called me too damn early this morning."

Will chuckled, "Mornin'? Check your clock, hun."

I held my phone away from my face and squinted to make out the time. 3:30. In the afternoon.

"Fuck…" I muttered.

I heard laughter and an 'I heard that!' come out of my speaker. Putting my phone back to my ear, I slammed my head on the floor and groaned again.

"What were you plannin' on doing today, cher?"

I sighed, "Not sleep the whole damn day."

"Go drink some water and take some ibuprofen. Works wonders, I swear."

Rolling over on my back, I tried to give myself the willpower to get up. Didn't work.

"Why'd you call me anyway, Will?"

"Just wanted to see how you were. Glad I called, too. You might have been in bed all day."

"And that would have been bad, why…exactly?"

He laughed at me again, "What did you do last night?"

My headache was getting worse, so I pushed myself off the floor and headed to the kitchen, "BAU night out…Reid and I kicked Emily and Derek's asses in pool." I downed some pills once I got to the medicine cabinet, then hobbled over to my couch and collapsed.

All I heard from the other end was laughter, "Did you just crash on your couch?"

"What's it to you?" I shot back at him, trying to shield my eyes from the sun that was coming through the window.

"Oh, JJ." Will sighed, "So, did you kiss any hot guys this time? Or were you not that drunk?"

"I was NOT drunk either time, but no I did not kiss any hot guys, for your information, "I growled.

He whistled, "Did I hit a sensitive issue? Hun, you hit me as the type of girl who can't sleep past ten. You just woke up at three in the afternoon. You still weren't drunk?"

"I can sleep in to at least noon…" I trailed off because he hit the nail right on the head. No matter how exhausted I am, I never sleep all day…I get a LITTLE intoxicated…out for a week.

"Hmm…three in the afternoon is kinda like noon…so, I agree, not drunk." I could basically hear him grinning through the phone.

"Ok, smart ass. Why did you call me exactly?"

"Just to talk, see how your week was, what you're doing this weekend, etc. You know, being a nice guy and such."

I smiled, "Ok, I take back the smart ass comment."

He laughed, "So? How was your week? Was your case really that bad?"

Sighing, I filled him in on the details, "Emily's mom came in with this family who moved here from Russia years back…the father was kidnapped they left some body parts, and eventually delivered more…like an ear."

"That is gruesome."

"Yeah. They didn't wait until the deadline that was set either. It was really frustrating to try and get into the bank system, too, because it was a Russian bank."

"Well, how'd it go? That technical analyst of yours works magic, I'm sure she figured it out, right?"

I pursed my lips, "Yes and no…someone paid the ransom, the father was released, the daughter was killed, and there's no evidence of anything ever taking place."

There was silence on the other end.

I continued, "It just sucks…we know that there's illegal things going on there, but we have no proof to show for it…"

"That's crazy, cher, but you have to move on, ya know? You guys did your best, I'm sure. That's all you can do."

I sighed again, "Still sucks…"

"Well, I might have an idea to cheer you up…"

Leaning my head up against the side of my couch, I took the bait, "Does it involve me coming down to see you?"

"It might…"

"Well, I might be able to come next weekend…we had a case last week so this week should be pretty low-key. I might even be able to get Friday off and come down then…"

"That's great, Jay!" I could basically see his face; a grin spread wide, his eyes glistening.

"How about I call you later on in the week to confirm?"

"Sounds amazing. I hope you feel better, hun."

I stretched out my arms and legs and groaned, "Feeling better already."

Will laughed, "Talk to you soon,"

"Bye," I said right before hanging up.

I lay out on the couch for a few minutes before I dragged my butt up. I wouldn't feel very good about myself if I lay around all day! At the very least, I needed to get some laundry done. The news that I had something to look forward to in a few weeks put some bounce in my step, too.

* * *

Before I knew it, I was on a plane down to New Orleans. Currently, I was about 20 minutes away from landing. Will had called me a few days after my little drunken incident and made plans.

After getting out of security and turning my phone on, I waited out in the lobby for a few minutes. I was in a big airport and had no idea where Will would be, so I just sat down on a bench.

My phone finally got signal back and I was about to call him when a new voicemail popped up on my screen. It was from Will, about a half hour ago.

I frowned. He knew I would still be on the plane.

_Hey Jen this is Will. Listen, I know you're comin' down and all, and I'm really lookin' forward to seein' you…but my captain just called me last minute... I can't pick you up but I ordered a taxi for you. Should be waitin' just outside the airport, hun. I gave him my address and paid in advance so you should be golden. I left a key in the outlet cover outside by the door so you can get in…I promise I won't be more than an hour or two, cher. I'm so sorry, but duty calls. I'll make it up to you! Promise! Talk to you soon, Jay._

Sighing, I got up to collect my things and try and navigate my way out of this airport. I was bummed, but I'm sure Will would understand if the reverse happened; neither one of our jobs are technically 'nine to five.'

I walked out to the street but didn't get two steps before a man stopped me, "Jennifer Jareau?"

Nodding, I looked over at this random stranger who had called out my name, "Yes?"

He pointed to a taxi parked at the curb, "I heard you're in need of a taxi? A certain William LaMontagne told me of a lady in distress."

I smiled, "That would be me."

He took my bags and drove me to Will's house. He lived almost a half an hour away from the airport. We pulled up to an old farmhouse kind of off by itself. This is where he lives? Doesn't look anything like any other 'bachelor pad' I've been to!

I thanked the taxi driver before letting myself into Will's house. It was huge! I sat my bags down by the door and looked around. There was a massive staircase leading upstairs, but from the door alone I could see the kitchen, large dining room, even larger living room (complete with flat screen TV and video games), and a room with a pool table. Will was living the life!

Walking around, I got to the living room and noticed the walk out porch around back. I unlocked the sliding glass door and walked through.

The view was breathtaking. It was swampy, but someone had done a really good job of cleaning it up. There were flowers and trees everywhere surrounding a little pond.

I failed to notice the fenced-in yard and the dog house until I heard something growling behind me.

Twirling around, my hand flew to my hip before I remembered I didn't have my gun. Airport security tends not to like guns so I had left mine at home.

Looking toward the source of the noise, I found a massive dog that looked kind of like a pit bull mixed with something bigger. A lot bigger. I backed up against the railing of the porch, hoping that I wouldn't trigger it to attack.

The dog kept inching closer and closer, growling all the while. I didn't have my phone or my gun, so I was preparing to fight off this dog by hand.

I was trying to judge the distance between the door and my current position, so I wasn't looking when the dog jumped at me.

Falling to the ground, I screamed and covered my face, trying to think of the best way to run.

I stopped squirming once I realized the dog wasn't doing anything but look at me. He sniffed my leg a little and then came up to face me.

I was terrified.

Will was going to find my dead body in his backyard after this monster ripped me to shreds. This is going to be an awful way to die.

Then the dog licked my face and lay down next to me before closing his eyes to go back to sleep.

I slumped down on the porch, trying to get my breathing to slow down. Sometimes I forget that not all dogs are going to attack me…and I overreact…just a little.

The porch door slid open and I jumped.

I heard Will's voice before I looked up to confirm who it was, "JJ? What are you doin' on the ground?"

Shrugging, I flipped over on my back and propped my head up, looking at him upside-down, "I wanted to take a nap?"

The dog snuggled up next to me and I flinched before looking back up to Will.

His eyes went wide, "Oh! I totally forgot you're scared of dogs! I should have told you about Dex! He didn't jump on you did he? He just started doin' that…"

I laughed, "I was scared for my life when he knocked me down, but after he licked my face I decided that he wasn't going to eat me alive."

He shook his head, "Dex! Did you knock this pretty lady down?"

Dex replied with a yawn before laying his head down on my arm. I looked up at Will, "See? No hard feelings. We're best friends now."

Will smiled before coming over to help me up. Dex looked annoyed that his pillow had moved and he trotted through the open door and out of sight. Will scooped me up and hugged me, "I'm so sorry that I couldn't pick you up! My boss called an hour before you were supposed to land and I'm next in line for a promotion so I couldn't exactly say no. I went as fast as I could…"

I shushed him, "It's fine, Will, really. I would never had had this lovely bonding moment with your dog had you picked me up." Winking, I led him back in the house.

I spotted some flowers on the floor that hadn't been there before and turned around with a confused look on my face.

He shrugged, "I got these on the way home…but I panicked a little when I couldn't find you…"

Smiling, I picked them up, "That was thoughtful of you."

Leaning down next to me, he picked up the ribbon they had been tied with and helped me put them back together.

"Looks like new!" I said as I placed them on a nearby table, "Thanks." I turned around to face him again, "So, what's the plan for the weekend?"

He frowned, "Well, I was going to take you out to dinner tonight, but it's a little late now…"

I cupped his face in my hands, "So, we make dinner in tonight? What's so bad about that?" Pushing the corners of his mouth up, I got him to laugh.

He tucked me under his shoulder and led me to the kitchen, "I sure missed you, cher. Talkin' on the phone just isn't the same."

"I agree," I said as I threaded my arm around his side, squeezing him a bit before going to open his fridge, "So, what are you going to make me LaMontagne?" I was too busy trying to determine if anything edible could be made from the contents to see that he had stopped and was staring at me.

I looked back, "Are you going to help or what?"

He pulled me back out of the fridge and I heard it shut behind me. I wrinkled my brow, confused, "Aren't you hungry? I'm starving."

Laughing, he pulled me in closer, "I'm hungry too, hon. I just feel like we need to get somethin' out of the way first."

I could feel the heat flush in my face, "Excuse me?"

He wrapped his hands around my waist, "I think things got awkward last time…" Resting his forehead on mine, he continued, "And honestly? I've been wishing I could do this since I did it before..."

I grinned, knowing where this was going, "I think I overreacted a little last time…"

Moving to kiss my cheek, he chuckled, "A little?"

I shivered as his breath tickled my collarbone, "Maybe more than a little…"

His lips made it back to mine and hovered inches away, "That can be made up…"

Raising my eyebrows, I moved my hands up to his face, just staring at him before he made the first move. He finally moved in and closed the distance, his hands working his way up my body to hold my face.

He kissed me slowly, taking care to be gentle. I barely noticed him turning us around and lifting me onto the counter. I threaded my hands through his hair, pulling a little, wanting him closer to me.

All of a sudden I was holding onto nothing. My eyes flashed open and I steadied myself after almost falling off the counter. Will was looking intently into his refrigerator, "Hmm…we could make pizza?"

I scoffed, "William LaMontagne that was cruel!"

He looked back at me with a smirk on his face, "I don't know what you're talkin' about…"

Hopping off the counter, I tried to think of a way to get him back. He started pulling things out to make pizza and I helped. We were in the middle of pouring sauce on the crust when I reached up to caress his face. The smoldering look he gave me almost made me forget what I was planning on doing.

He closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss me, but met a handful of pasta sauce. I smeared it all over his face.

* * *

The pair ended up on Will's couch after devouring the pizza along with a bottle of wine. We had the news turned on and were watching the remnants of a case that Will had worked on being explained to the public. He didn't seem too thrilled to be reliving it, so I tried to lighten the mood.

"So, what do you do in your spare time down here, Will?" I said as I unfolded my legs to stretch out on his lap.

He started massaging my calves, which felt amazing. I sunk down in the couch and rested my head against a pillow as he responded, "I play pool with some of the guys downtown after cases once in a while. I like to hunt. Umm…I like to remodel as you've probably seen." He gestured around the room.

I raised my eyebrows, "You didn't buy it like this?"

He shook his head, "After Katrina everything was demolished. This house was one of the few that were still standing, but it was hanging by a thread. I bought the property for dirt cheap and fixed her up."

I looked around again, trying to take in the fact that Will had done all of the work on this house by himself, "You'll have to give me a tour sometime. You can't just brag about all of your hard work and then not show me!"

He smiled, "You can get a tour anytime, cher."

The news changed to a different topic. The weatherman was going on about a meteor shower that was supposed to happen tonight. I listened intently.

Will looked at the TV and then back to me after he noticed my interest, "You like that kind of stuff JJ?"

I nodded, "My sister and I used to go out and watch the stars all the time back home…" I trailed off, grasping for the necklace hanging around my neck. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell him about my sister yet.

He gently moved my feet off his lap before getting up and grabbing a blanket. Then he held out a hand to me, "Well, I happen to know a pretty good spot to watch stuff like that."

I smiled before taking his hand. He led me out on the porch and down the stairs. The moon was fairly bright, but it was still dark enough to see the stars. Will stopped me when we got to a pretty big hammock perched between a post and a willow tree. He crawled on top of it and then opened his arms to me. I followed suit and found a nice niche right underneath his chin. We both sighed contently as we looked up at the night sky.

"I don't think it's supposed to start for a while…" I pointed out.

I felt him shrug underneath me, "Your point is?" He reached over to where he had left the blanket and threw it over us, tucking it in behind me.

Hearing something walking towards us, I tensed up. Will just rubbed my arm, "It's just Dex, hun. He doesn't like me to be out of his sight for long." I heard the dog lay down underneath us and before long, he was sound asleep.

Still a little bit nervous, I looked around, "Aren't there alligators and stuff down here?"

Will laughed, "You nervous?"

I frowned, "Maybe a little…"

"You think I'd let my dog wander around here if I thought an alligator was gonna come eat him up?"

Shaking my head, I replied, "Well aren't they around? How do you know they won't show up? Aren't there poisonous snakes too?"

"There's an electric fence around the property to keep Dex in. A few feet away from that is a chain-link fence that goes around the entire back yard. It's mostly hidden by trees and brush, but there's no way an alligator is gonna get in here. As for snakes?" He shrugged again, "Cottonmouth snakes don't get big enough to worry him." He pointed underneath them at the dog.

I relaxed a little, "Do WE have to worry about them?"

He grinned, "Nah. There's an antidote for their venom. No one's died in years." The look on my face must have given my thoughts away. "I'm kiddin', Jay! By years I mean since about the 1940s. Only a handful of people even get bit by them each year. We'll be fine."

Relaxing even further, I let myself lean against Will's chest. Listening to his breathing, I decided to delve into the past of the man whom I had let my guard down for, "So, did you grow up down here?"

I felt him nod, "I actually grew up right around the block from here. I went to high school in downtown New Orleans, the Academy in Baton Rouge and then I came back here after I got a job. Haven't been around much."

"Why not?" I prodded.

A few seconds past as he thought about his answer, "I dunno really. My parents grew up here, their parents grew up here…it just means somethin' to be a LaMontagne here…I don't really know how to describe it."

"I think I get what you mean. Your mom still around?"

"Yeah, she's in a nursing home a few miles away. Dementia. The docs say that she was one of the youngest that they've ever seen to have symptoms. She was only 55. That was five years ago. I visit her every now and then but it's gettin' to be pointless. She doesn't recognize me all the time anymore."

I was silent, not expecting him to pour out his life story to me. I said the only thing that came to mind, "I'm sorry."

He sighed, "Not your fault, hun. God's way of doin' things I guess. I'm an only child so I was used to takin' care of both of them. She took a bad turn after daddy died. She hadn't been doin' so bad, but everything went downhill in the past year. Doc says she probably won't make it much longer."

Squeezing him closer to me, I tried to cheer him up, "Well, I'm here for you, you know."

Leaning down to plant a kiss on my forehead, he smiled, "My mother would be so happy to see me with a woman like you."

I pretended to frown, "Hmm…I wonder if my mother will feel the same about me with a man like you…"

He looked puzzled, "Why wouldn't she? I'm handsome, charming, have a nice place, steady job, loyal dog, no criminal record, no tattoos…did I mention I'm handsome?" I laughed as he went on about his 'good' qualities. "Your turn. How'd you get to workin' with the big boys in D.C.?"

I tried to play down how things actually happened, "Well, I graduated from East Allegheny High School, which is around Pittsburg…then I attended the University of Pittsburg. I graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice, but I didn't really know what I wanted to do with that. After meeting the famous, David Rossi," she chuckled a little, "He convinced me to join the FBI. That's how I got to D.C."

Will's eyebrows shot up, "The University of Pittsburg? That's not cheap. You've been holdin' out on me cher. I mean, I know you're gorgeous and everything, but smart and rich too?"

I scoffed, "I'm not rich! I got in on an athletic scholarship!"

If his eyebrows could go further up, I'm sure they would have disappeared into his hairline. "Really? Learn somethin' new about you every day! I noticed you didn't deny the smart comment." He winked at me.

Sighing, I thought I might as well tell him the whole truth. He would figure it out eventually anyway. "I was captain of the varsity soccer team and valedictorian of my class. They about paid me to go to their school."

Will whistled, "You make me look like an idiot! What are you doin' down here with me anyway?"

I tilted my chin up to lay on his chest so I was looking him in the face, "I don't know really…some guy flirted with me while I was at work the other day…for some odd reason I gave him my number. Not quite sure why I did that yet."

He smiled before tilting my chin up even farther to kiss me. I shut my eyes, drinking in the moment.

All of a sudden, a bark came from underneath us. I jumped and almost flipped the hammock, but Will saved us from tipping over. I tried to peak down in between the holes in the fabric, but all I could see was black, "What was that about?" I asked.

Will just pointed up to the sky and my eyes followed in the direction he was pointing. The meteor shower had started. Every so often a streak of light would flash across the sky. I settled in and curled into Will's side, just watching.

After a few minutes, Will asked me a question, "What made you and your sister go out and watch these all the time?"

I thought about it for a few minutes before replying, "I'm not really sure. We felt like we were a part of something that the whole world could see. Anyone can look out their window and see what we were seeing. I guess we just liked being a part of something bigger than us."

He nodded, "I get it. You guys still go out and be astronomers sometimes?"

I stiffened, not totally surprised that the topic came around to this but still not entirely ready to discuss it with Will. "Not anymore," I said in a soft voice.

"I hear you. Life gets in the way of things."

"Yeah, something like that."

We sat out for the rest of the night, lying under the stars, eventually falling asleep under the watchful eyes of the dog.

**Hope you enjoyed! Merry Christmas and see ya next year!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey again! : ) I wrote this one pretty fast because it's been in my head for a while and all I had to do was write it down….I should be able to write the next chapter before I go back to school, but I'm not making any promises haha. Hope you guys had a good holiday and have a happy new year! **

**Thanks to lexjl ( was that soon enough? Haha), CatCrimMindsFan-CMCrazies (I'm obsessed with your tumblr by the way…), MerlinWizardPurr (Thank you for the kind words! I have watched every episode with Will in it more than a few times…can you tell? Haha), SSAmolloy7 (Glad you enjoy it so much!), JMW, and Foryou123 for reviewing! **

**Hope you like this chapter!**

The sound of a key rattling in her front door woke JJ up. She had fallen asleep on the couch in her living room, waiting for Will to call her from the airport. Before she had really woken up fully, Will had his bag in the living room and was turning around to lock the door behind him. She yawned and said groggily, "Did you call? I was supposed to pick you up."

He laughed, "I called once, hun. I figured you'd already fallen asleep so I just called a cab. It's not a big deal. You've had a rough couple of weeks."

JJ got up off the couch and wrapped him in a hug, pulling him close to her, "I feel bad though."

He squeezed her tightly before pressing his lips to her forehead, "Don't," He whispered.

Picking up his bag he let JJ walk him to her bedroom, hand in hand. She yawned again before crawling into her bed and pulling the sheets back, motioning for him to join her. He held up a finger and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and change into pajamas. He hadn't been gone three minutes but when he returned, JJ was almost asleep again.

Will crawled in bed next to her and pulled her close to his chest. She was asleep within minutes. He couldn't help from noticing the dark circles under her eyes and the way exhaustion overtook her. Frowning, he remembered their phone calls from the past month since she'd visited him in New Orleans. Running a finger through her hair and putting it behind her ear, he recalled every conversation being cut short by work and, if they did have time to talk, JJ always brought her job into it, which he couldn't blame her for because she had dealt with some pretty gruesome things lately.

"Sorry I didn't call, we got a really bad case."

"They were hunting people, Will! HUNTING PEOPLE! Like with bows and arrows!"

"We couldn't get to the last victim in time…"

"Someone just killed Gideon's girlfriend. We know who it is, but the Bureau isn't about to let us work it. They say it's a conflict of interest."

"I just feel like everyone we try to save dies."

JJ hadn't been able to come down in a while and she had insisted that he couldn't come up. She was always busy with work. They had only been officially dating for about two months, but the time spent apart killed Will. It pained him to no end when she called him, almost in tears, case after case. All Will could do was listen and try to cheer her up.

He looked down at the blonde haired beauty fast asleep on his chest and decided that tomorrow they would talk about how demanding her job was.

* * *

JJ woke to the smell of pancakes and bacon being made. She smiled a little. Whenever Will slept at her house, he always made breakfast in the morning. Every single time. She wasn't about to complain.

She threw on a sweatshirt and walked out into the kitchen to meet him. He was busy trying to flip the pancakes without making a mess. JJ walked up quietly behind him before threading her arms around his waist and squeezing tightly.

"Good mornin', sleepy head," Will teased her.

She looked at the clock on the stove, "It's only 10:30! Not that late."

Will flipped the remaining pancakes over to a plate and set them down on the counter before turning around to face her. He cupped her face in his hands and had a hint of a smile on his face, "You deserved to sleep in a little, cher. You've had the month from hell."

JJ shrugged, "It wasn't that bad." She was too busy helping herself to some breakfast to see the frown that had crossed Will's face.

"You ever think of taking some time off?" he asked her.

Sitting down at the table, she glanced at Will with a puzzled look on her face, "Why would I need to? I don't have family around. I'm never sick…I think I would go crazy if I had any time off."

He plopped down in a chair next to her, handing JJ some coffee, "I don't know. You've just been workin' your ass off, hun. It has to catch up with you sometime."

They ate their breakfast in a relative silence with the news on softly in the background. After they had finished, Will broached the topic again.

"You ever think it's too much to handle?"

JJ looked confused, "What's too much to handle?"

He gestured at everything around them, "Your job, all the stress it brings, your family not bein' around, livin' all by yourself…" he trailed off.

She pursed her lips, "You don't think I can handle it?" Will opened his mouth to deny that statement, but she interrupted him, "Sorry to inform you buddy, but I've been doing this for years."

Will sighed as she stalked off to take care of her plate. He followed slowly, carrying his dirty dishes. "Jen, you know that's not what I meant."

He watched as the JJ most people knew, the girl who always has her guard up, the girl who never shows emotions, disappeared and the JJ that HE'D come to know over the past few months came out. Her shoulders slumped and she rested her head on one of her hands while leaning over the sink. She took a deep breath, "I know that. It's just…I've been under a lot of pressure for a while…and sometimes…I don't think I can do it…." Her voice was shaking.

Will set his plate down on the counter and wrapped his arms around the petite blonde. She leaned back and tucked her head under his chin. He saw a trail on her face from a tear that had just fallen.

Pulling her over to the living room, Will pulled her onto the couch, making her lay mostly on top of him. She curled up and started sobbing. Will just held her, rubbing comforting hands up and down her back, waiting for her to get it all out.

About five minutes later, the tears stopped coming in heart-wrenching sobs and had trickled down to just a few sniffles. JJ was trying to wipe the tears from her face, but Will grabbed her arms and pulled her closer to him. She grabbed the front of his t-shirt and burrowed into him, "I'm sorry…" She said in a weak voice.

He starting stroking her hair, "Don't be sorry, hun. I'm here for you, whenever you need me."

She smiled weakly, "I guess this has been a pretty bad month after all."

Will wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug, "Let it out. It might make you feel better if you talk about it."

JJ took a deep breath and began to trace circles on his t-shirt, "I think me feeling like crap started with the case in Idaho…"

"That was the one with the two brothers right?"

"Yeah…they kidnapped people, let them go in the woods, and then hunted them. We found half a dozen people with arrows stuck through their guts."

Will rubbed her back a little, "You caught both of them though, so that can't happen again."

"Both of them ended up dead eventually."

Her hand started to trace patterns up and down his shirt. She had no idea the effect that she had on him, even when talking about gruesome things. Will closed his eyes, "Ok, so there was that. What else is on your mind?"

"Well, after that, Gideon's girlfriend was murdered by Frank Breitkopf. He basically had to go on the run to figure out what the hell was happening. Frank kidnapped one of the girls Gideon had previously rescued on a case…Reid and I found her and his rotting mother in an apartment…Frank and his 'girlfriend' Jane both jumped in front of a train. Nothing we could do," JJ continued in a monotone voice.

Will had to stop her fingers from dancing across his chest by grabbing them and intertwining them with his own, "I still don't think that's what's botherin' you, Jay. You deal with death every day."

JJ sighed, "Well Gideon obviously left after that and Reid is distraught. I saw Hotch going into Strauss' office before I left yesterday and that's never good. We won't be able to function if she kicks him off the team."

"You guys will figure it out."

"What if we don't? I love this job, Will. We're the best team the BAU has ever had. We're down one person, maybe two. What're we going to do?"

Will pulled her chin up so he could look at her face, "What's done is done. There's nothin' you can do about it. All you can do is to hope for the best and know that I'm here for you."

JJ closed her eyes, the hint of a smile on her face as she laid her head back down on his chest, "What would I do without you and your infinite wisdom, William LaMontagne?"

"Babysit your niece and nephew by yourself today?"

Her eyes flashed open and she almost fell off the couch. Will caught her before she hit her head on the coffee table, "Shit, Will! I totally forgot! What time is it?" JJ made to get up but Will pulled her back down to his lap.

He nuzzled into her hair, whispering into her ear, "It's only 11:30, Jennifer Jareau. We have an hour and a half." He pointed to the clock on the wall facing them.

She relaxed back into his embrace, relieved, "I completely forgot that Sarah asked me to do that today. I would have lain there all day with you."

Will smiled, pulling her closer, "That wouldn't have been a bad thing…"

JJ turned around so she was straddling his lap and raised her eyebrows, "I think I would have gotten bored. Just being with you?" She faked a yawn, "Booooooring…"

He pulled her in and started planting kisses on her neck, "Borin' you say?" He murmured.

She groaned softly as he made his way up to her face, "Might as well get all of this out now. We won't be able to do it later in front of the kids." She winked at him.

Will pecked the top of her nose and wrinkled his eyebrows, "Why not? What are they, 10 months and 3 years old? They don't know what's happenin'."

JJ gave him one of her famous scolding looks, "You are bad!"

He shrugged, "You're beautiful."

She smiled before leaning in to kiss him.

* * *

Will and JJ arrived at her sister's house a little after one o'clock that day. JJ's sister, Sarah, had asked her to come babysit so she and her husband could go to an afternoon play and then to dinner afterwards. JJ knocked and walked through the door to see her brother-in-law trying to put on a tie with his son running between his legs.

The little boy stopped as he heard the door open. When he saw who it was, he ran towards the newcomers, or at least one of the newcomers.

"Aunty Jay!" He screamed.

She knelt down and scooped him up in a hug, planting kisses on him the whole way, "I haven't seen you in so long, Josh! I missed you."

He beamed up at her, "I miss you too!" Josh peeked around JJ's head to look at Will, "Aunty Jay, who that?"

JJ turned around, "Josh, this is my friend, Will. He's going to help me babysit you and your sister tonight."

Josh stuck his hand out, eyeing Will carefully. Will flashed JJ a confused look before shaking the 3-year-old's hand. Josh let go and then nodded, "He'll do."

She set Josh back down on the floor, laughing. He ran off to find his mother.

"Was that a test and did I pass?" Will asked, still confused.

JJ's brother-in-law came over to shake Will's hand after getting his tie on, "I'm surprised. Most people don't pass his assessment." He smiled at Will, "I'm Steven, by the way. You must be the famous William LaMontagne that my sister-in-law talks about all the time."

Will grinned sheepishly before nodding, "Hopefully she says good things."

She pulled him over into a one-armed hug, "Of course! Although I usually just talk to Sarah about you…she's the one who blabs and tells him," She pointed a finger at Steven.

"Excuse me?" A blonde-haired woman walked into the room. She could easily pass for JJ's twin, only she was a few inches taller. "I haven't seen you in weeks and the first thing I hear out of your mouth is how much I talk?"

JJ grinned and ran to give her sister a hug, "You know I love you, Sarah!"

Sarah hugged her back, "Sure ya do." She then looked down sternly at Josh, who had followed her in the room, "Now you be good for your Aunt and her friend, Josh. I want a glowing report when we get back."

Josh nodded emphatically and everyone laughed. Sarah grabbed her coat and then hugged Will, "It's nice to finally meet you! You better be careful messing with this one, though." She gestured towards JJ, "This girl can kill you and make it look like it was your best friend."

JJ hit her sister, "Sarah!"

Will just smirked, "Well I am a detective, so hopefully I'd be able to figure out anything she's plotting before it happened."

"I hope so, for your sake," She turned to JJ, "Charlotte just went down for a nap so she'll probably sleep for a few hours. I fed her before I put her down as well. She shouldn't be too difficult tonight."

JJ nodded and pointed towards the door, "Get out, you two! You deserve a date night!"

They both quickly obliged, laughing all the way out the door."

As soon as the door closed, Josh's eyes got extremely big, "What are we gonna do NOW?"

JJ smiled and plopped down on the living room floor next to him, "Well what do you want to do, Josh?"

He thought hard for a moment, "Grandma just got me a puzzle." Josh looked over at Will, who was still standing towards the door, "Do you like puzzles?"

Will looked surprised, "Well, yeah, lil man. I like puzzles."

Josh beamed, "I'll go get it," and ran to his room. They could hear him going through his things, trying to find it.

JJ turned around and patted the ground next to her, "Come sit."

Will walked over and joined her on the ground, wrapping an arm around her body, "So, what sorts of stuff do you tell them about me?" He smirked.

She leaned into him, "They just wanted to know where I've been going, that's all."

He smiled, "That's all huh?"

She was about to say something, but Josh burst back into the room, "I found it!" He sat down on the floor next to them again and started pulling the pieces out of the box. "It's from Ratatouille. Me and Grandma saw it earlier this year, and now she got me the puzzle."

JJ smiled, "I remember her telling me about that."

"It was so fun, Aunty Jay!"

They spent the next hour listening to him jabber away and helping him put the pieces together. It was about half done when JJ froze, "Did you hear that?"

Josh and Will looked at each other and then turned to her, "Hear what?"

JJ scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Boys. I think Charlotte's up."

She got up and left the room, leaving Josh and Will by themselves.

"Where do you live Mr. Will?" Josh asked as he tried connecting Ratatouille's head to his body.

Will started putting the pieces of the rat's tail together, "I live down south in Louisiana."

"How'd you meet Aunty Jay then if you live so far away?"

Will was still surprised at the way Josh questioned him. He didn't expect that out of a three year old kid talking to a complete stranger, "Well, she was workin' down by me one day. We caught a bad guy, well, technically a bad lady. She helped me out a lot."

Josh nodded, "She's a good helper."

"You got that right, kid," Will said as he placed the tail next to the rat, letting Josh put the two pieces together.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Josh spoke up again, "She must really like you a lot."

Will stopped and looked at him, "Why do you think that?"

He shrugged, "I've never seen her bring a friend over here before and I'm almost four years old. That's a long time. Plus, Aunty Jay talks about you a lot to my mom. I've never heard her do that either."

"You've made some good observations, lil man."

This time it was Josh who stopped putting puzzle pieces together, "Do you like her?"

Will thought to himself for a moment and then thought, 'to hell with it'. He's just a kid. "You wanna know a secret?" Josh nodded immediately. Will leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I think I love her."

"You think? You're not sure?"

Will laughed, "It's complicated. I haven't known her that long, but I really like her a lot."

"How do you know that you think that you love her?" Josh stumbled over the long question.

"I feel more comfortable around her than anyone else. She's funny and beautiful and she likes me for who I am. Know what I mean?" He turned and almost forgot he was talking to a three-year-old.

"I think so." His face turned more serious, "But do you LIKE her?"

Will laughed, "Well, yeah. Why do you think I come up from Louisiana every weekend?"

Josh nodded, contemplating something, "I guess that makes sense. I just get scared sometimes."

"Scared about what?"

Josh looked around to make sure JJ wasn't back yet, and then he motioned for Will to come closer and whispered in his ear, "I overheard Aunty Jay and my mom talking about a bad man one day. Aunty Jay seemed really sad. I was scared that you were gonna be a bad man like the other one. I don't want her to be sad again."

Will shook his head, "I'm not a bad man, Josh. I promise."

Josh held out his little finger, "Pinkie promise?"

Will locked fingers with the boy and sealed the deal, "Promise."

Josh seemed satisfied, "Will you help me put Ratatouille in his kitchen?" The two finished the puzzle, not knowing that JJ had been just around the corner holding Charlotte quietly, watching in a mirror and listening to every word they had said.

* * *

Later that night, JJ was trying to get Charlotte to go back to sleep. It was almost 8:00 and her sister and her husband would be back in about a half hour. Sarah had texted JJ to let her know they were on their way home. If Charlotte could go to sleep now, they would be able to get Josh ready for bed as well before Sarah and Steven got home.

Charlotte was being fussy so JJ started singing to her. She didn't like to sing, even though she was good at it. It reminded her of her other older sister and that brought back bad memories. She was singing right now as a last resort to try and get Charlotte to go to sleep.

Will was trying to get Josh in his pajamas. They were in his room right next to Charlotte's when JJ started singing. Will looked up from getting Josh's pajamas out of his dresser. Josh was smiling, "I bet Charlotte won't go to sleep."

"Why do you think that?"

Josh took his pajamas from Will and started putting them on, "Aunty Jay doesn't sing unless Charlotte won't go to bed. It helps her go to sleep."

All Will was hearing was the voice of an angel coming from the next room. She sang beautifully. "Why doesn't she ever sing?"

Josh shrugged, "It makes her sad. My mom too, only she's not as good a singer as Aunty Jay. I don't know why. They never tell me when I ask."

Will looked puzzled as he helped pull the pajama shirt over Josh's head. This little boy had enlightened him on quite a few topics today. Josh ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth, so Will poked his head into the nursery. JJ had stopped singing and was leaning against the crib, stroking Charlotte's cheek. She had finally fallen asleep.

Will reached over and turned the light off in the room. JJ turned around and smiled before coming out of the room and closing the door. She had a look on her face that Will had never seen before. A mixture of sadness…but she looked happy too. She hugged Will tightly before asking, "Josh ready for bed?"

Right on cue, Josh tore out of the bathroom, water running down his face, before standing and saluting JJ, "Yes, ma'am!"

JJ smiled but before she could say anything, Josh asked, "Is it alright if I stay up until mommy and daddy get home though?"

She held out her arms and Josh jumped into them. JJ lifted him up and they headed back towards the kitchen, "You sure can, bud. I'm sure they will be so proud to know how good you were today. You even got ready for bed all by yourself!"

Josh shook his head and pointed at Will, "He helped. My shirt got stuck on my head."

JJ laughed, "Ok, well mostly by yourself then."

They both lay down on the couch to wait for his parents to come home while Will sat in an armchair. Josh rested his head on JJ's lap, trying not to look tired.

JJ started running her fingers through his curly blonde hair, "Did you have fun today little man?"

Josh nodded, "You should come babysit more often. And bring him." He pointed at Will again.

JJ smiled, "So you like Will, huh."

"He's good at puzzles," said Josh, as if that answered her question.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9! : ) Hope you like it…thanks to CatCrimMindsFan-CMCrazies, SSAmolloy7 and JMW for reviewing. I feel like I've been writing an overdose of angst lately…oh well ;) sorry bout that!**

JJ and Will were lying in bed after babysitting her niece and nephew for a few hours. She was curled up, her head on his chest, tracing circles on his t-shirt. He was running his fingers through her hair, neither one of them wanting to go to sleep and waste the precious time that they had left together. Will had to leave tomorrow night to go back to New Orleans.

The day had been fun but exhausting. Will hadn't known how much energy a three year old could have. JJ had looked after 10-month-old Charlotte for the majority of the day. As Will reflected on the hours together that they'd had, he remembered a few tidbits of information that her nephew Josh had told him.

"So, Josh told me some interestin' things today, hun."

JJ had her eyes closed, "Mmhmm, what did he tell you?"

Will wasn't sure if he should just jump right in to the topic, but he did anyway, "He told me that singing makes you sad, which I don't understand because you have a beautiful voice. He also told me about a bad man that you and Sarah used to talk about. He was worried that I was bad, too. I had to pinkie promise that I wasn't," he paused, "And when you went to get our coats, I asked Sarah if she had watched the meteor shower like we did. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me that she had always thought they were boring. Didn't you say that you and your sister used to go out and watch them all the time?"

JJ's eyes flashed open when he mentioned the singing. She had heard what her nephew and Will had talked about in the living room, but she had missed their conversation while getting Charlotte ready for bed. Josh surely had enlightened Will on several accounts, "I don't know. I used to sing with my sister but she was always so much better than me so I stopped."

Will frowned, "Josh told me that you're a way better singer than Sarah is."

JJ should have told Will the truth that night that they fell asleep under the starts. She just hadn't been ready. Thinking to herself, she decided that this was as ready as she would ever be.

"I wasn't talking about Sarah."

Will looked confused, "You got another sister I haven't met yet?"

She sighed and got up off the bed. Will made to join her but she stopped him, "I'll be right back."

She walked down the hall to her living room and got a picture frame out of a cabinet in the corner. In it were three smiling girls: two blondes and one brunette who had their arms wrapped around each other. The blondes could pass for twins. The brunette had similar facial expressions but the striking difference in hair color made her look less related. JJ stroked the brown hair, wishing she could still do so in real life.

Will watched as JJ returned with a picture frame in hand. She crawled back in bed with him and set the frame on his lap. He picked it up and examined it.

He pointed to the smaller blonde in the middle, "That you?" She nodded and he moved on to the other blonde, "Sarah?"

"Right again," She said sadly.

Will looked closely at the third child in the picture, only she wasn't really a child. JJ looked to be about ten or eleven, and he knew that Sarah was only a few years older than she was. The brown haired girl looked to be about sixteen. She seemed protective over the other two, trying to envelope both of them in her arms. The necklace the older girl was wearing looked vaguely familiar. He looked over to see JJ playing with the same necklace. She wore it every day and Will had noticed that she messed with it whenever she was nervous or uncomfortable.

Then it clicked.

The sad way JJ had said, "Not anymore," after he had asked her about the meteor showers. The way she talked in past tense when she talked about her sister. He had always assumed she was talking about Sarah.

Will looked into JJ's eyes, seeing the sadness there and knowing the reason for the first time.

"What happened to her?"

JJ looked down at the picture, taking it back from Will, "I was eleven. One afternoon, Al just came into my room for no reason. She gave me this necklace. I didn't understand why she was giving it to me because it was her favorite and she wore it every day. She told me that no matter what happened that she loved me." JJ looked devastated retelling the story. She was slumped down on the bed, her hair over her face.

Will reached for her and hugged her close to him. JJ snuggled close, still stroking the picture frame. "That was the last time," her voice broke and he saw a tear fall down on the frame.

Will raised her chin up so he could see her face. Her blue eyes were dark; the spark usually evident in them was gone. She looked so dejected.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," she said, through the tears that were threatening to fall, "I just didn't think I could."

He looked down at her with sympathy and adoration, "You don't have to apologize for anythin', Jay. I didn't know."

A few tears escaped and ran down JJ's face. She settled back down on his chest, staring at the picture of the perfect afternoon with the three whole and pure girls in the frame. Little did they know, no less than a month after this was taken, one would be gone forever, leaving the other two to lives of questions without answers.

"I just don't know why, Will. We had the life. The textbook American life. The house, the dog, the family, the fucking white picket fence," More tears fell, "She didn't leave a note. One day she was there, the next day, gone. Allee gave me this necklace and she gave Sarah one of her favorite books. We woke up the next morning like we always did. My mom woke me up for school, Sarah and Allee woke up to their alarm clocks," JJ shoved the picture away from her, "She never woke up that day, Will. My mom went in to see what was wrong and…"

This time she couldn't stop the tears. The heart-wrenching sobs came out. Will was done asking questions for the night. He wished that he had just kept his mouth shut. Now their precious time together was scarred with bad memories.

He just held her until the tears had subsided and she succumbed to exhaustion, crying herself to sleep in his arms.

* * *

Will didn't sleep well that night. He felt awful for bringing up the subject of JJ's sister. He hadn't been expecting the story that she had told.

When he woke up the next morning after finally falling asleep, she was gone. Will noticed the light was on in her bathroom and he knocked and went in. JJ had just gotten out of the shower and was drying her hair.

She looked up when he opened the door, "Hey." Putting down the blow dryer, she walked over to him, wrapping him up in her arms. JJ whispered in his ear, "Thank you. For everything."

Will cupped her face in his hands, "Thank you for sharin' your life with me."

She smiled, "You're one of the lucky few."

He leaned in to kiss her, "I'm extremely grateful for that."

They broke apart when Will's phone started ringing in the next room. He sighed, "It's probably just Charlie wantin' to know when I'm gettin' back."

JJ finished getting ready for the day before walking back into the bedroom. Will was still on the phone but he looked distraught. He was sitting down on the edge of her bed, running his hands through his hair.

"Was she in pain?" Silence. "How did she deteriorate so fast? Why wasn't I notified?" Will listened for a few seconds, "Did you do anythin' to help her?" JJ heard the voice on the other end of the phone. It sounded like they were yelling and it definitely wasn't Charlie. Will cut the voice off, "I'll be back later today to collect her belongings. We will continue our discussion then," He slammed his phone shut.

JJ had a bad feeling that she knew the 'she' and 'her' that Will was referring to.

She sat down on the bed next to him and put her arms around him for the second time that day. Will's hands were shaking and he looked ready to cry. She'd never seen him like this before. He looked up at her and she was unnerved at the anger in his eyes. Anger about something he couldn't control.

"I have to go home, Jay." His voice was surprisingly soft.

She laid her head down on his shoulder, "Your mom?"

She felt him nod and looked up, seeing the tears falling down his face. JJ tried to wipe some away, but Will just took her hand and held it while trying to control his sobs.

JJ squeezed his hand, "I'll take you to the airport whenever you need to go."

He nodded again, before getting up and gathering his belongings that were scattered about her bedroom, leaving her to watch as the man she loved tried to compose himself.

She'd realized that about him last night. The man she loved. She truly did love him. They had only been together for two months, and only even known each other for three, but JJ felt like she could see herself becoming a LaMontagne. He picked her up when she was down. He made her smile when she wanted to cry. Those phone calls she made after getting home from cases saved her soul some days. The awful and gruesome happenings that she saw daily somehow disappeared from her mind when she was with him.

The realization had come to her when she heard Will and Josh talking in the living room last night. First of all, he was extremely good with kids. Will talked to Josh like he was an equal and JJ loved that. Secondly, she had heard his confession to Josh.

"_Do you like her?" Josh had asked._

_JJ had heard Will pause before whispering "You wanna know a secret? I think I love her."_

JJ's heart had fluttered at this point. She had hugged Charlotte close to her chest, making sure that it hadn't been a dream.

"_You think? You're not sure?"_

_Will laughed, "It's complicated. I haven't known her that long, but I really like her a lot."_

"_How do you know that you think that you love her?" _

"_I feel more comfortable around her than anyone else. She's funny and beautiful and she likes me for who I am. Know what I mean?"_

She knew exactly what he meant. Will accepted her with open arms even with all of her faults. He never raised his voice at her. Will always treated her like a queen, and when she asked him why, he would always shrug and say something like she deserved nothing less.

She owed her life to this man pacing around her room. He had pulled her from the depths of her ghastly job and held on for dear life. JJ sometimes felt overwhelmed by the choices that came to her on a daily basis, but one call from Will could change everything she felt.

Will dragged her out of her thoughts, "Ok Jay, I think I'm ready."

She jumped up to help him put his things in her car. Several minutes later, they were standing in the airport. A norm for the two of them, but things felt different this time. JJ had things she wanted to say but she knew that this wasn't the time. Will was grieving.

He had been lucky. One of the flights down to New Orleans was leaving in 45 minutes and he had been able to secure a ticket.

Will pulled her into a half-hearted hug, "I'll call you sometime. I don't know when though."

She nuzzled into his chest, "That's fine. Take care of yourself, Will."

He smiled sadly before kissing her forehead, "I will. I love you."

JJ froze as he walked away.

He had said what she had been dying to say. Now it was too late. He was already behind the barricade that led to security. Why had he walked away so quickly? Was he afraid she didn't feel the same? That should be the least of his worries.

The short drive to her house got her thinking. She looked at the clock. Still only 30 minutes until that plane took off.

Pulling onto her road, she parked in the street and sat there. JJ had gone through losing a parent when she was younger. Her dad hadn't lasted long after her sister had killed herself but she had had Sarah and her mother, though.

Will was all by himself. Sure, he had Charlie, but that wasn't really the same. He had no family left. She had just let him walk away to deal with one of the hardest things in life all by himself.

Suddenly, she darted out of her car and into her house. Grabbing her cell phone, she dialed her number two on speed dial while rushing to her bedroom. She had already packed a few pieces of clothing by the time her recipient answered.

"JJ?" Hotch's voice was confused.

"Hey Hotch. I'm really sorry for calling on a Sunday, but I need to take some personal time, if that's ok," She was hurriedly packing things into a small bag.

"Of course that's ok, JJ. Everything alright?"

JJ was so distracted, she forgot to censor herself, "One of my close friends just lost his mom and I really want to be there for him but he lives in Louisiana…"

Hotch cut her off, "That's fine, JJ. Go be with him. When will you be back?"

She thought for a moment, "Is Wednesday ok? That should probably be enough time." Judging by the phone call Will had taken, his mom had already been dead for a while…the funeral should be sooner rather than later.

"Wednesday is perfect. Be safe. Call me if you need to take more time." JJ was indebted to him now. Others might think him mean or even heartless, but JJ knew the real side. When it came to his team, there is little that Aaron Hotchner wouldn't do to help them.

"Thank you so much, Hotch. Sorry again for calling on the weekend."

"It's fine, JJ. Go." He hung up before she had a chance to thank him again.

Throwing her cellphone in the bag along with a few makeup products, she was done packing. JJ had a lot of stuff at Will's house that she could use, which made her packing easier.

JJ was back at the airport in record time, but that still left only fifteen minutes until take-off. She was going to have to break some rules on this one.

Walking briskly towards two employees talking behind the counter, she pulled out her badge. Slapping it down on the counter, she got their attention.

"Excuse me, but there is a plane to New Orleans that leaves in exactly fifteen minutes. There is a Detective LaMontagne on board. It is of the upmost importance that I get on that plane."

The female employee rolled her eyes, "There's no way you're making it."

JJ flashed a death glare at the woman, before moving onto her last chance, the young man that was currently staring at her in awe.

The man started rapidly typing on his computer. After a few minutes he looked up at JJ, "William LaMontagne? There's a seat open right next to him. Come right this way."

JJ nodded and smiled sweetly as the man handed her a plane ticket, "Thank you." She glared again at the woman, before taking off towards security with the man.

She was led to the front of the line after a rapid discussion that took place between the male employee and the head of security. Flashing her badge again, the discussion ended and she was first in line.

Glancing at her watch, she knew that she didn't have time to be searched thoroughly. She looked at the burly security guy that was putting her bag through the metal detector. "Look, I need to be on a plane that leaves in ten minutes. Open up the damn thing if you think something's in it that shouldn't be!"

He frowned at her, but after seeing her FBI credentials, the process magically sped up. JJ was racing off to find her gate with two minutes to spare.

It wasn't looking good for her, but she heard an announcement over the PA system.

_Attention, Flight 5603 to New Orleans has been delayed. _

She praised the young man who had gawked at her when she had first walked in. Sometimes, it did pay to look good. JJ had picked out this outfit for a reason. The badge would only have gotten her so far.

Reaching the boarding gate, she met with some confused employees.

She handed them her ticket. One of them frowned, "Boarding for this flight ended ten minutes ago."

JJ's eyes flashed as she pulled out her credentials for the fourth time that day, "I'm getting on this plane. Frankly, I don't have time to go over your head at the moment, so your best option would be to let me on."

Their eyes widened as they ushered her on board. After proving that she was, in fact, a member of the FBI to the pilot himself (in front of most of the disgruntled passengers), she finally was able to take her seat next to Will. He had been morosely staring out the window, so he had missed the commotion.

JJ threw her bag up in the overhead storage area and then sat down next to him. The plane immediately started moving; proving to everyone on board that the reason for their delay had been the blonde haired lady who had just entered the plane. JJ rolled her eyes at the looks she received before poking Will in the side.

He looked over with an angry stare before realizing who it was, "Jay? How did you get here?"

She sighed before leaning back in her seat, still staring at him, "Well, I had to abuse these a little," She put her credentials back in the pocket of her jacket, "But I made it from my house to this plane in twenty minutes."

He laughed, "Really? They just let any riffraff with a badge on a plane?"

JJ smiled, "Apparently. I had to persuade the ticket guy a little, if you know what I mean." She winked at him.

Taking her hand he said, "I bet it didn't take much to persuade him, huh?"

She looked down, "Actually all I did was show up and look pissed. That was enough for him to give me a ticket next to Detective LaMontagne."

He raised his eyebrows and dropped her hand, "So, we're on a business trip? As professionals?"

JJ shrugged, "I didn't think anything else would let me get by everyone in fifteen minutes."

Will shook his head, "You are crazy, woman."

She took back his hand, "I didn't want you to go through this alone."

"Thank you," he said sincerely.


	10. Chapter 10

**Yes it's short...yes I suck...**

**I was watching "All That Remains" and getting worried that the few things I've made up about JJ's sister would now be considered wrong…not really! Haha. Great episode!**

**Thanks to CatCrimMindsFan-CMCrazies, SSAmolloy7, meika24, Criminalmindschick221, JMW, Mistress Whitlock6908, Neon-Night-Light and luvhobie for reviewing! Thank you so much for the kind words! I don't deserve them haha.**

* * *

JJ walked up to Will's house, helping him carry his bags in. A tall man with short brown hair opened up the door and greeted them. It was Will's partner, Charlie Luvet, who was a big help. Whenever Will was out of town visiting JJ, Charlie always looked over his house and took care of Dex. They'd been through everything together and it also helped that he lived right down the block from Will.

Charlie offered Will a handshake, "I just took Dex out for a walk. We stopped in the park for a while too, so he shouldn't be too riled up."

Will shook his hand, "Thanks Charlie. I appreciate it."

"No problem, Will. Anythin' else I can do, just give me a call."

Will nodded and Charlie went to walk back to his house down the road before turning back, "JJ, you take care of my man, you hear?"

JJ nodded, a small smile on her face. They walked into Will's house and he slumped down on the couch. He was already exhausted and the week hadn't even started yet.

Despite the few hours that had passed since he had found out his mother passed away, Will didn't look that bad, aside being tired. JJ sat next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist, laying her head down on his shoulder. Dex had been at the door to greet them, and he hopped up on the couch and laid halfway down on JJ. He was stretching out his neck, trying to touch Will.

JJ scratched his head and he gave up on trying to get to Will. Dex was still eyeing Will carefully though.

Will sighed and caved as well, laying one hand on Dex's head and wrapping his other arm around JJ.

"You're going to get through this, Will," JJ tried to comfort him.

He smiled a little, "I know that, Jay. I have you."

JJ hugged him a little before looking up at him, "By the way, why did you run to security today? That goodbye was a little abrupt wasn't it?"

His face got a little red as he continued to watch Dex, "I was just worried about catching my flight, that's all."

She laughed, "YOU were worried about catching your flight? I delayed the plane!" He didn't laugh along with her and she knew why. "Will, look at me."

Will glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. JJ stopped petting Dex to touch Will's face.

"Hey," He finally looked at her face to face, "I love you too."

It looked like a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and he flashed the first genuine smile that she'd seen out of him in weeks.

JJ grinned, "I knew that was it!"

Will started shaking his head, "It just came out and I wasn't sure if you felt the same way and I didn't want to freak you out right when I needed you most and…"

JJ cut him off by kissing his lips.

* * *

Later that day, Will had to go collect his mother's belongings from the nursing home. He had told JJ to stay behind, his reasoning being that it was just something that he had to do by himself. JJ watched him leave, all the while wishing that she could take his pain away.

Remembering that neither one of them had eaten all day and it was getting close to six at night, JJ started to cook up some lasagna, something that she knew Will loved.

She had just put the dish in the oven when the doorbell rang. JJ hesitantly peeked out the window, thinking that it was probably someone who wanted to give Will food or something. That had been her experience after deaths in the family. All of the good cooks in town come out in droves.

What she didn't expect was Charlie Luvet on the front porch again.

JJ opened the door, a confused look on her face, "Hey Charlie, Will left about thirty minutes ago to head over to the nursing home."

Charlie nodded, "I know, I saw him leave. I came here to talk to you."

"Um, ok. Come in," She opened the door and ushered him into the kitchen, where she began to clean up her mess from the lasagna.

Charlie grinned, "Lasagna is his favorite you know." He turned to face her as she was putting things back in the fridge, "But…you probably already knew that…"

JJ raised her eyebrows at him, "I did indeed. Did you really come over here to talk about my choice for dinner tonight, though?"

He sighed and shook his head before settling on a bar stool across the kitchen, "No I didn't." He folded his hands together on the table and paused a minute before speaking, "JJ, you know Will loves you, right?"

She smiled internally, remembering the conversation that she and Will had shared earlier in the day, "Yes I know that."

"Good, because he's not going to act like he does over the next few weeks."

JJ was confused, "Excuse me?"

"What I mean by that is he's going to internalize everything and shut everyone out. That's what he did last time. Hell, it took him almost a year and a half to get over his dad dying. That was just a couple months ago…he came back to work one weekend after he solved his dad's old case and was like a brand new person. I'd thought he'd fallen for some hot shot FBI chick that he'd worked with, but he kept denying it. I still don't know why he magically recovered…" Charlie trailed off, observing JJ and her wide grin carefully, "When did you guys meet again?"

She shrugged, "It may have been a couple months ago when the Bureau helped the New Orleans Police Department solve a case."

He slammed his hand down on the table, "I knew it!"

"Knew what, Charlie?" Will's voice made them both jump. Neither of them had heard him drive in or open the door to the garage.

Charlie stood up and turned around, jabbing his finger in Will's direction, "You DID fall for an agent! You lied to me!"

Will shrugged, "So?" He plopped down on a barstool next to Charlie, utterly exhausted but not wanting it to show.

Charlie clapped him on the shoulder, "I just knew I was right, man. You can't lie to your best friend," He smiled before showing himself out.

Will looked confused, "What'd he want?"

JJ thought quickly, "You didn't have some ingredients for the lasagna, so I asked Charlie if he had any," she pointed to the dish cooking away in the oven before crossing the kitchen to be next to him.

He just nodded, getting up before she had reached him, "I'm gonna go change."

JJ frowned at his retreating figure. Maybe Charlie had been right to warn her.

The lasagna was done and ready to be eaten by the time Will came back downstairs. JJ had dished up two plates and they ate in relative silence at the counter. When he finished, Will went to go put his shoes back on, getting ready to go out again.

JJ had just put her dishes in the sink when she noticed what he was doing. Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was just past 8, "Hey, you going out again?" She leaned up against the wall in the hallway leading to the front door and crossed her arms.

Will grabbed a jacket before heading for the door, "I'm goin' to talk to Charlie for a bit."

Suddenly he stopped and turned to face her, noticing the thin blonde looking down dejectedly in front of him. He quickly closed the distance between them and tilted her face up. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Will broke the silence.

"Thank you for makin' dinner, hun."

JJ just smiled a little, "It was the least I could do."

He shook his head, "You didn't have to, though." He then softly placed his lips on hers, lingering a few seconds before pulling away. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

Will had been gone for an hour before JJ started getting ready for bed. She took some sheets out of the laundry room and made up the bed in Will's spare bedroom. JJ wasn't quite sure if he wanted company tonight. She was lying in the bed, flipping through the channels on the TV absentmindedly when Dex got up abruptly to go downstairs. She figured Will was home. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard his familiar footsteps coming up the stairs.

Will peeked his head into the spare room, "What are you doin' in here, Jay?"

JJ shrugged, pulling the covers closer, "Well, I didn't know how long you were going to be…or if you wanted to be by yourself for a while."

He shook his head before turning off the TV and pulled the covers off of her, "I'm sleepin' next to you every chance I get, cher. It doesn't happen very often, ya know." Will picked her up off the bed, cradling her in his arms before he walked to his bedroom and placed her gently on his mattress. He pecked her on the lips before heading into his bathroom to get ready for bed.

Dex looked around the room, content with what he found, before heading back downstairs to his dog bed that was by the fireplace in the living room. He always slept there, keeping a keen eye on both doors coming into the house all night.

Will had just brushed his teeth and put on pajama pants before returning to his bed shirtless. He crawled in on his side and let JJ cuddle up to him before pulling the covers over them both. She sighed contently as she drew circles over the muscles on his stomach.

Will was staring down at the beautiful woman that was curled up by his side. He pulled her close before kissing her forehead and relaxing down into his bed. Will knew he was extremely lucky to have a woman like JJ in his life, especially in this difficult time.

Going to the nursing home had been harder than he thought it would be. The staff hadn't touched his mother's room since she had passed, making the process of picking up her belongings drag out. He had had to sort out the important things. Will felt like he was throwing part of his mother away each time he had chucked something like a receipt from the grocery store aside. They were her things. She had owned them. It didn't feel right to sort through her things.

JJ noticed the distant look in her boyfriend's face. She brought up a hand to caress his face and his attention came back to the present. Will took her hand and kissed it before wrapping it in his own and laying it on his chest.

"You ok?" JJ's soft voice broke the calm that had settled over the pair.

Will shrugged and squeezed her hand, "Today was hard. That's all."

She gazed at his face, trying to push back all the training she knew about profiling and just look at him for him. He just looked tired.

"Did you get everything that was there?"

Nodding, Will averted his gaze down to their joined hands, "That was the hard part."

JJ was sympathetic, "I know. You're stronger than you think. It took me weeks to even want to be in our house again…after…well you know." She paused, drawing a deep breath, "We eventually had to clean out her room. It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. My parents didn't really have the heart to do it, so it was left up to Sarah and me. I just felt like throwing anything away was throwing away Allee. Like we were moving on without her, which we were, I just didn't want to think of it like that." Will looked back at JJ, amazed that she had just voiced his earlier thoughts. She noticed the look, "I must have kept Al's biology notes for two years before I could throw them out. It got to the point where I had run my fingers over her handwriting so much that the lead started to fade."

JJ had never told anyone that little tidbit. She had never been as open with anyone as she was with Will. He helped her more than he realized.

Will nuzzled into JJ's hair, "Sometimes I forget all that you've been through already."

She shrugged wrapping her arms around his torso, "It's made me who I am today."

Will closed his eyes, his right arm snaking around her, holding her close, while his other hand lay on top of hers. "Thank God for that," He whispered into her hair.

They both fell asleep, content with listening to the other's heartbeat.


	11. Chapter 11

**Yeah. I have no words for how much I suck...sorry! College ended but the summer of working every day began :/**

**Thanks to CatCrimMindsFan-CMCrazies, lexijl, meika24, SSAmolloy7, JMW and Everwood 9 for reviewing! Also thanks to SSAmolloy7 for checking up on me every now and again...I'm still alive and writing very slowly ;)**

* * *

Will spent Monday morning at the funeral home preparing for the visitation that was supposed to happen that day and the actual funeral the next day. JJ whiled away the few hours that he was gone by cleaning his house. There was no way she could fall back to sleep once he left her side and she couldn't just sit around doing nothing when he was gone. She took Dex for a walk, vacuumed the house, dusted and did all of the dishes.

Around 10:00, JJ got a text from Will.

Visitation starts at 3:00. I didn't want one but the funeral director thought otherwise. Charlie will pick you up and bring you out if you want. -W

She quickly replied.

Of course I'll be there. xoxo -J

She assumed since he wasn't driving her to the visitation that he wasn't coming back to the house before it started.

Frowning to herself as she started to get out the supplies needed to give Dex a bath, JJ remembered Charlie's prediction that Will would withdraw into himself.

She sighed while directing Dex into the tub. All she could do was be there for him when he needed her. There wasn't much more she could do if Will wouldn't let her.

About an hour later, after thoroughly washing the dog, including brushing and clipping his nails, JJ started to make herself some lunch. She was halfway through making some soup when her phone buzzed with a new message.

You don't have to be you know. It won't kill me - W

JJ frowned. It was killing HER that Will wouldn't let her help him with anything.

I'll be there, Will. I want to be there. I love you. - J

She ended up eating all of her lunch without getting a reply back. All JJ had to work with was the giant dog sitting at her feet begging for scraps. She looked down at the dog that she had once been terrified of, "Dex, could you please knock some sense into your owner? For me?"

All he did was look up at her and wag his tail, which earned him a potato chip thrown in his direction.

* * *

Will had started his day at the funeral home. After trying to convince the funeral director that he did not, in fact, want a visitation for his mother, he had eventually given up that idea and given in to at least a three-hour visitation. The director had tried to remind him of how much his mother had done for the community and how many people would love to pay their respects, but all Will wanted to be was done with this mess.

He didn't want anyone's sympathy. He didn't want anyone's pity. That was all a visitation was going to get him. Now, sitting and watching the waves roll in on one of his favorite beaches, he had to come to terms with the fact that tonight, more than half of the town would probably come to talk to him. The last LaMontagne left standing.

He was sitting in a secluded spot and had turned his phone to silent, but that didn't stop the blinking light that caught his eye, signaling that he had a new text message. He saw it was from JJ and opened it.

I'll be there, Will. I want to be there. I love you. - J

Will shut his phone and leaned back on the bench he was sitting on, running his fingers through his hair. How did he get so lucky to have someone like JJ to depend on? Will knew the minute he texted her what time the visitation was that she would be there in a heartbeat, probably way too early even. What he did to deserve her devotion was unknown to Will. Hell, the woman held up an entire plane to be with him at the moment. What wouldn't she do for him?

That question alone scared Will immensely. Not because of her devotion to him, but the fact that he would do the same for her. He had been toying with the idea of moving to DC lately, but he hadn't wanted to leave his mother when she probably didn't have much time left. Will had not been aware of how little time he really had left with her, but it was all for the best. She didn't have to suffer anymore. Now he literally had nothing tying him to New Orleans. Sure, he had a job, but he could get another one of those. Charlie was pretty great too but, as a wise woman once told him, cellphones could be good for your health.

The fact that he was even considering moving for JJ amazed him. Will had never pegged himself as a romantic kind of guy. He was trying to think of the turning point in their relationship, when had he realized how much JJ meant to him? When had he stopped acting like William LaMontagne Jr., sometimes Bill to his friends, sometimes just Jr., to others, and started acting like Will? HER Will?

It wasn't when he told her that he loved her because he had felt that way for what seemed like a lifetime. That was only him vocalizing the feelings that he had kept inside for some time. Who knew that she had felt the same?

It wasn't when she came down to New Orleans to visit him for the first time? When they had fallen asleep under the stars?

Or was it when they shared their first kiss after they went out on that date in Virginia? That kiss that had blown his mind but JJ had been totally embarassed about. He smiled just thinking about it.

Will didn't have an answer. All he knew at the moment was that he really didn't mind feeling this way. He liked it actually. He was already in love with her before he knew it had begun.

There was no one night, one phrase, one thing that had completely sold it for him. It was the combination of all of these amazing things that he had experienced with her that made Will want to drop everything he had in Louisiana to be with her.

And that scared the hell out of him.

* * *

JJ was in Will's master bathroom trying to pull up the black dress she was wearing. After that didn't work she tried covering up the mass amounts of skin showing with her long blonde hair. That didn't work either. She sighed, regretting how fast she packed and how she mistakenly picked this dress instead of the less-revealing one that she thought she had taken.

She started rummaging through her bag and Will's closet to see if she had brought or left anything here that would be more appropriate for a funeral. She thought the dress she was wearing at the moment would be more appropriate for a strip club, if she was the stripper.

A knock on the door interrupted her search. Looking out the window and seeing Charlie and his fiance at the door, JJ slowly opened it.

"Do you have anything else that I can wear? I don't think this is gonna cut it..." JJ trailed off, not fully opening the door.

Charlie looked confused and pushed open the door before smirking, "I think that's fine!"

His fiancée swatted his hand and laughed, "You look fine, JJ. If anything, Will needs something to distract him at the moment."

JJ blushed before getting her purse and following them out to their car, hoping she was right.

* * *

Will had changed into his suit that he had brought with him just in case his pleading with the funeral director hadn't worked out, which it didn't. He was currently in the funeral home chatting with some of his buddies from the force. Will had his back to the door and didn't notice their attention change to someone who had just walked in.

Ryan, one of the other detectives, nudged him and pointed towards the door, "Please tell me you know her!"

Will raised his brow and turned, looking for whatever girl they had seen. He scanned the small crowd of people that had gathered around him since the funeral home had opened. Making eye contact with a gorgeous blonde-haired woman trying to stay around the edge of the crowd, he looked back at his buddies, guessing which woman they had seen.

He turned back around to five bewildered men, "You do know her?"

Will waited until JJ had made her way through the crowd to stand by his side. She wasn't sure if he wanted to introduce her to everyone, or if she was just supposed to stand to the side the entire night.

Will answered that question for her by pulling her in close to him and planting a kiss on her cheek. The heels she was wearing made her equal to his height and that dress she was wearing was driving him crazy and he'd only been in her presence for seconds..

The five men surrounding him were stunned. Will just slyly smiled, "Guys, this is JJ. JJ these are a few members of the squad that I work on."

Sam, his previous partner before he was promoted to detective, piped up, "JJ? Your girlfriend, JJ?"

JJ nodded, "Nice to meet you gentlemen." She extended the hand that wasn't wrapped around Will's waist for them to shake. They were too stunned to say anything and ended up just milling about the crowd after saying their condolences to Will.

Will pulled his signature smirk when he looked JJ up and down. She just blushed and looked away, "I didn't know if it was too much, but Charlie said it was ok and I didn't have anything else to change into..."

Will leaned into her, enjoying the equality in height for a moment, and murmured into her ear, "Of course Charlie would say it looks ok! You look sexy."

JJ frowned, "I didn't think it was appropriate for..." She motioned around the room.

Will brought her in for a proper hug and pecked her on the cheek again, "You look fine." He looked around and remembered where he was, dampening his mood a little, "Thanks for coming, though."

JJ noticed his mood change and hugged right back just as hard, "Anything for you."

She noticed a funny look come across his face, but it vanished before she could question it. Within seconds they were surrounded by concerned citizens of the town who had come out to pay their respects.

Turns out Will's mom had been a teacher at the local high school for years. She was responsible for putting a majority of the local kids into college by way of letters of recommendation or by just working with them on their grades. She was extremely well-respected. That just made her visitation last longer. There was a steady stream of people starting at three and there would have been more but the director shut the funeral home at 6:45 on account of Will's utter exhaustion from talking to everyone.

Once they had gotten home, Charlie and his fiancée stayed around for a couple beers, but they eventually went home, leaving JJ to try and keep Will's mood up.

At the current moment, JJ was just worried about if Will was trying to drown himself in the shower.

She glanced over at the clock. 10:48. He'd been in there for almost an hour.

JJ flopped back on the bed and curled up in a ball, hugging a pillow. Initially, when she saw him today he was fine, but as the day went on, Will became more and more withdrawn. Even Charlie noticed and tried to counteract him, but it didn't work.

Suddenly the shower stopped and JJ cocked her head up, listening. She didn't hear anything so she decided to go check on him.

She knocked twice before peeking through the door. The entire room was extremely steamy, including the foggy mirror. That didn't stop JJ from seeing her boyfriend, clad in nothing but a towel, in the reflection.

Will opened the door farther, looking at her with confusion, "I'm almost done. Need somethin'?"

JJ feigned having to brush her teeth, "Yeah, I was just checking up on you..."

He frowned and ran another towel through his hair to dry it, "I don't need checkin' up on."

Dropping the toothbrush and staring at him in the mirror, JJ shrugged her shoulders, "Can't help it."

She moved back to the bedroom with a sigh. Will followed behind her, stopping to grab his sweatpants before crawling in bed next to her.

JJ tried to cuddle up to him before he pulled the covers over them but he was way too tense for it to be comfortable. She grabbed his hand that was reaching for the blankets and stopped it, "Hey. Talk to me."

Will frowned before squeezing her hand and placing it on his chest, "I don't want you to go."

His voice sounded so vulnerable at that moment, it broke her heart. JJ laid down with her chin on their hands, watching him. She traced a pattern down the side of his face with her free hand, "I know."

Will reached up to run his fingers through her hair, "I wish you didn't live so far away."

She stopped her fingers, resting them on his cheek, "Me too."

Will was torn. He knew JJ didn't really like commitment, they've had several discussions about that. It wasn't really about her not wanting to commit to him, she'd already proven that she would. JJ was just terrified of getting her heart broken again. She'd had way too many experiences that involved a very committed JJ and a very not-so-committed had all ended extremely badly for the woman that was currently nestled on Will's chest and he knew she still worried about him doing the same even though he was trying his hardest to prove he was different.

Everything else aside, they had only really known each other for a little less than four months. He'd poured his soul out to her in those four months. Nothing was a secret between them. Will also knew that he didn't know as much about JJ as she knew about him. She hadn't been able to meet his mother or father, but Will could've made time to meet her parents, she had just never asked him to.

She knew he was an only child, he had thought that he knew how many siblings she had until she dropped the story of her sister's suicide on him two nights ago. JJ never talked about herself unless he asked specific details. Even then she might deflect the topic towards something else. Will knew it wasn't because she didn't trust him. She was guarding herself towards more heartbreak. The fact that she did it without thinking killed him.

That's why he didn't want to tell her that he was thinking of moving. To the nation's capital, to be exact. Will knew she would run for the hills. Not so much from him, but from what it meant for the two of them. It would mean a higher level of commitment then she'd probably had in a long time. Will would have to go extremely slow for this to work.

He was brought back to the present by JJ tapping her fingers on his cheek, "Flip over," she demanded before getting up on her knees.

Will gave her a confused look, "Why?"

JJ tried turning him over by herself, "You're getting a massage."

He shrugged before flipping over on the bed and resting his head on his arms, "Not gonna complain 'bout that."

JJ chuckled as she straddled his back, starting to rub the knots out of his shoulders, "Jeez, Will. You need to relax more."

"You need to give me more massages," He groaned as she kneaded his shoulder muscles harder.

She surprised him by leaning in close to his ear and whispering, "Deal."

He surprised her by flipping them over and pulling her close to his face, "Let's postpone those 'till later though."

JJ's laugh was silenced by Will's lips. This wasn't one of their cute kisses that they gave each other in passing. This was a mind-blowing experience, reminiscent to the first kiss that they shared. It was passionate and raw, just what Will needed.

He hovered over top of her, trailing kisses down her face. JJ was in another world, sighing contently as she ran shaky fingers down his sides.

Will nudged her head over so he had better access to her neck. He was content to stay there and work wonders on her skin, knowing that she was probably going to have marks to show for it tomorrow.

"Ouch!" JJ squealed after Will had lightly nipped her earlobe.

Will stopped his ministrations on her neck and laughed, "Weren't expecting that were you?"

She smirked before rolling her eyes and folding her arms across her chest, "That was mean."

Will laid his head down on her folded arms with a grin, "It was a love bite."

JJ smiled and ran her fingers through Will's short hair, "We should probably go to sleep..."

Before flipping over on his side, Will pushed his arm so it was underneath her and pulled her close, pressing a kiss to JJ's forehead. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I know," JJ smiled while looking up at him.

Will rolled his eyes, "You're going to be the death of me."

The last thing she said before they both fell asleep was, "I know that, too."

* * *

The funeral started at ten and JJ's flight left Louisiana at two later that same day. It was Tuesday and she had to get back by Wednesday, which is what she had told Hotch.

JJ had a panicked thought about her phone conversation with her stoic boss. In the frenzy of the moment, she had actually told Hotch exactly where she was going. Louisiana.

The entire team knew JJ well enough to know that she had never been out of Pennsylvania before college and even during college she only went as far as Pittsburgh, 20 minutes away from her family home. From Pittsburgh she went to Quantico, Virginia, still only less than five hours away from her hometown.

She didn't know anyone from Louisiana, save for the one detective that they had all watched her flirt with over a case.

All she could do now is hope Hotch didn't mention the state she was currently in. JJ wasn't quite sure she was ready to reveal her fledgling relationship with the team. It wasn't that she was afraid of what they would think...it was just that once other people knew about her relationship, they would all have to be informed if it went sour. Her friends and family would all get too invested and JJ would have to be the one to inform them. She'd had that happen all too often in the past.

Right now, JJ tried to put those thoughts out of her mind and focus on the man whose hand she was holding onto at the moment. They were standing in the cemetary, getting ready to say goodbye to Will's mom. He was holding onto her like she was his lifeline and she didn't really mind.

Everyone else had already left, leaving Will some space. JJ had left her heels at home today, knowing they were going to be outside in the grass most of the day. She looked up his slightly taller frame and squeezed his hand.

Will snapped out of the daydream he was in and looked down at his girlfriend's concerned face. He plastered a smile on his face, "Hey what time is your flight? We should get going shouldn't we?"

"It's a little past noon and my flight leaves at two. Charlie could drive me to the airport though, if you wanted to stay."

Will shook his head and turned away from his mother's soon-to-be grave, "I can take you. He's not even here anymore anyway."

JJ tilted her head towards where everyone had parked their cars. Charlie and his fiancée were leaning against their small Toyota just chatting. "You can stay."

Shrugging his shoulders, Will let out a shaky sigh, "I kinda wanna stay just a little longer."

Reaching for his tie and straightening it, she left her hands where they stopped, one still wrapped around his tie and one grasping his suit jacket, "Then stay."

Realizing that his only reason for not sinking into depression was about to leave, one tear slipped down Will's face, "When you comin' down again?"

JJ's face softened immediately, one hand reaching up to wipe the tear away, "As soon as possible."

Will grabbed the front of the short jacket she was wearing, pulling her close, "Good."

Her hand that had wiped the tear away snaked around his neck, "I'll call you as soon as I get home. I promise."

He half-smiled and leaned down to her level, "Can't wait."

JJ's hands pulled down on both Will's tie and his neck, making his lips crash against hers. They both drank in the other until the need for air overcame the two. JJ pulled back, panting, and laid her head against his chest, closing her eyes.

Will wrapped his arms around her small frame and hugged her tight. He glanced at his watched and noticed it was getting close to 12:30. Squeezing her once, he whispered in her ear, "You should probably go."

JJ pulled back and straightened up Will's tie where she had pulled a little too hard. She didn't want to look up at his face because she knew he could convince her to stay, "I love you."

Kissing her forehead he replied, "I love you, too," before dropping his hands from her body.

She turned and walked away with her arms folded across her chest. Charlie nodded at her and opened the back door for her to get in, with his fiancée already in the passenger seat. JJ watched as Will sat on a nearby bench with his head in his hands as they drove away.

They stopped quickly at Will's house so that JJ could get her carry-on that she had packed that morning and change her clothes and then they were off to the airport. The silence in the car was deafening.

JJ had told Charlie that he could just drop her off at departures. They pulled up to the curb and JJ sat still for a second before moving her hand to the door, "Take care of him please," she directed towards both of the two remaining people in the car.

Charlie glanced at her in the rearview mirror, "Yes ma'am," and his fiancée nodded along with him.

JJ gave a little smile to show her gratitude and then got out of the car to catch her plane.

The plane ride back to Quantico was uneventful and took a little under three hours. JJ decided to stop in to the BAU to find out if they had a case or not at the moment.

Walking into the bullpen at around 4:45, JJ saw everyone coming out of a meeting, with Garcia being the first out of the room. She took one look at JJ and ushered her away into her office, without letting JJ have a second glance at the rest of her team.

After Garcia slammed the door behind her, JJ finally got a word in edgewise, "Pen, what the hell are you doing?"

Garcia was rushing around her office looking for something and rambling off words, "Oh JJ, honey I couldn't let them see you like that. They don't know! I mean, I only do because I researched a few things but they don't know that! I didn't tell them! Do you know what Derek would say to you if he saw? You're lucky I was the first one to see you!" She stopped rushing around once she found her make-up bag and then walked back over to JJ.

JJ was still confused, "That didn't explain why you barricaded me in your office as soon as you saw me! That didn't explain anything really at all."

Garcia rolled her eyes and held up a small compact mirror. Looking in her reflection, JJ shrugged, "What's to see?"

Laughing, Garcia pointed it down further, towards JJ's neck, showing two highly visible red marks peeking out from the top she was wearing.

JJ was trying to think how no one had said anything about her neck earlier. Then she realized she wore her collared coat to the funeral and apparently nobody thought twice about it on the plane. JJ's face immediately turned bright red, "Look, I was..."

Garcia cut her off, "I know what those are sweet cheeks. I also know who you got them from." She pulled JJ's shirt down a little and went to work on making the two marks invisible.

Frowning, JJ questioned her best friend, "And how do you know that?"

Penelope sighed, putting the finishing touches on her work before handing the mirror back to JJ, "Well, I was concerned because Hotch just told us that you had to go be with a friend, and I like to know where all my gumdrops are at all times so I couldn't just let you be somewhere where something bad could happen to you...all I did was look at your flight record...promise! I thought I was just going to get the standard BAU flights and one recent one showing your current destination...but you, my dear, have been living a double life that none of us have known about!"

"So, you know I've been to Louisiana frequently, sure. How did you know who I was staying with?"

Garcia looked guilty, "Well I noticed you weren't staying at a hotel and I remember Prentiss telling me earlier about how that detective when you were in Louisiana wouldn't keep his eyes off of you...and.." Garcia just spit out the last of her sentence in a rush, hoping JJ wouldn't catch all of it, "and I did some digging and found out that he's been seeing my blonde bombshell as often as you've been going down to him." She looked up, expecting JJ to be angry.

JJ just smiled softly, "It's fine, Pen, really. Just please don't tell anyone else until I do, ok?"

Grinning broadly, Garcia wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, "Well it doesn't seem like I'll have to wait long by the looks of what was on your neck! How many times have you guys done the..."

"Garcia! Enough! We haven't done anything!" JJ cut her off.

Garcia's eyebrows shot up, "Really? It's been like four months and you haven't..."

JJ interrupted again, "Penelope. I've just been getting to know him! We've both only visited on weekends and we're really exhausted when the days are done...we haven't had time to..."

"Well he's really a cute one Jennifer Jareau. Does he have a cousin?"

Laughing, JJ headed to the door, "No he does not. Can I go back out to the team now?"

Garcia took her arm and lead her back out to the bullpen and to Morgan and Prentiss' desks, where the team was holed up at the moment.

Hotch saw her first, "JJ, I thought I told you not to come back until tomorrow?"

"I know, Hotch, but my flight got here early and I decided to check in and see if we had a case."

He handed her a folder, "You guys do. Remember I'm still suspended. You'll be headed out to Milwaukee tomorrow."

JJ frowned, noticing Emily's absence, "Em still gone?"

Morgan nodded, "It's you, me, and pretty boy here," He jabbed his thumb in Reid's direction, who was currently deeply engrossed in a huge book.

Garcia huffed, "You have me too, remember!"

Smiling at her, Morgan replied, "We always have you, baby girl."

Letting some of her frustration show, Garcia blurted out, "Well maybe you won't! Maybe I'll just up and leave like Gideon or Emily or get suspended like Hotch or take a week off like JJ? Huh? What if I'm not here all the time?"

Morgan walked over and gave her a hug, "We'll be fine, princess. Promise."

Hotch's stoic look didn't change, "My suspension is only for a few more days. I'll try and talk to Emily tomorrow."

JJ jabbed Garcia's side, "And for the record? It was two days!"

Garcia smirked, "I know, I just miss you all when you're gone."

Wrapping Garcia up in a one-armed hug, she motioned towards tech analyst's lair, "Well go get your stuff. We're having a girls night."

Garcia squealed and ran off to her office while Morgan and Hotch just shook their heads.

"I'll try and talk to Emily tonight. Maybe Penelope can get her to change her mind," JJ told the men.

Morgan just shrugged and said, "Good luck," and Hotch just nodded, leaving JJ to wait for Garcia to head home.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys, I realized I royally screwed this up…so I had to rewrite a few lines in chapter eight to make the timeline right. Whoohoo! Sorry if you got more than one e-mail…I fucked up ;) whoops. Thanks to CMCrazies, lexjl, meika24, JMW and SSAmolloy7 for reviewing! You guys are all awesome! I wanted to go back to dealing with Will…but we have to go through dealing with Emily and Hotch first…**

JJ stopped just long enough to grab some wine at the store before showing up at Emily's apartment. Neither one of them had ever been there, but Garcia had the address, of course. The doorman let them in after they each flashed their badges and soon enough, they were at Emily's door.

Garcia knocked impatiently and extremely loud. Emily must have been close by the door because she answered quickly.

"What are you two doing here? And how exactly did you know where I live?"

Penelope laughed and pushed past her, "Excuse me, don't you know who you're talking to? Oracle of all knowledge? Knower of all things"?

Emily didn't look amused, "Why are you here?"

JJ was still waiting to be invited in to Emily's massive apartment, unlike her counterpart, who had already gone on a little tour. JJ said softly, "We're both just worried about you," she held up the wine bottle they had brought.

The brunette's attention snapped back to her front door, "I know. Come on in, JJ."

Emily led JJ into the kitchen, where the older woman got out three wine glasses. "Thanks for coming to check up on me, but I'm fine, really."

JJ started pouring the wine, "Have you met Penelope? She wouldn't rest until she saw you with her own eyes."

Rolling her eyes and nodding, Emily took a sip of the red wine that JJ had handed to her. She was about to say something, but the bubbly technical analyst burst into the room before she had a chance.

"Holy man, Em! You are hooked up here! We definitely have to have some girl nights here." She grabbed the last remaining wine glass sitting on the counter.

JJ just smiled and took a sip of wine.

Emily stopped her glass midway to her mouth before looking back at JJ, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be at a funeral?"

Her smile vanishing, only to be replaced with a frown, JJ put her glass down, "I got back a couple of hours ago." Her eyes lit up, "That reminds me. I was supposed to call my…friend once I got home." She pulled out her cell phone and walked into the other room. JJ missed Emily's eyebrows raising and Garcia shrugging.

JJ walked into Emily's bathroom and dialed Will's number. He picked up after the first ring. "Hey."

"Wow that was fast. Almost like you were waiting for me to call!"

"You know I was, Jay." His voice still sounded depressed and the conversation stalled.

"How are you?" JJ asked the only thing that felt appropriate.

"I'd be better if you were still here, but I'm ok," Will's voice was flat.

JJ sat down on the edge of Emily's tub and ran her fingers through her long, blonde hair, "How are you really?"

She heard Will sigh deeply, "It sucks. I miss you already."

Mirroring his sigh, JJ debated telling him about their case, but she knew he wouldn't want to hear it, "I miss you, too."

"You got a case?"

Damn that man. He knew her too well, "Yeah. Milwaukee. We leave in the morning."

"Text me when you leave?"

She smiled. It had become a routine for her to keep him updated on her whereabouts. He didn't freak out if she didn't, but she knew he worried, "Of course."

He hesitated, not wanting to end the phone call but knowing he couldn't listen to her voice forever, "Well, I'll see you when you get back, hopefully."

"The first weekend I have off, you get to see me again. I promise."

"Good. I love you, JJ."

"I love you, too." She was about to say goodbye before remembering what had occurred at the BAU with Garcia, "Oh and Will?"

"Yeah, hun?"

She rose her voice just a tad, "If you so much as leave a visible scratch on me again, let alone the two _gigantic_ red marks that are currently at home on my neck, you are never touching me again!"

She could hear him pull the phone away and start laughing hysterically, "Who saw?"

"You're lucky Garcia got to me before anyone else saw, but I'm serious, Will!"

"Sure you are, babe. You melt whenever I so much as look at you. You're putty in my hands."

JJ scoffed, "I am not!"

Will chuckled again, "Lucky for you it goes both ways. But, just for you, I won't leave any _visible _marks again."

She heard the stress he put on the word 'visible' and cracked a smile, "That's all I ask."

They sat in comfortable silence for a minute before JJ regretfully spoke up again, "I should probably go."

"I know. Talk to you soon."

"Very soon. Bye Will."

They both hung up at the same time and JJ left the bathroom with a smile on her face.

Coming back into the living room, JJ walked into a heated discussion between Garcia and Emily.

"Garcia, I don't know why Gideon hasn't shown up yet. I haven't seen him since we got off the plane from Arizona last Friday."

"He hasn't been at work all week and Hotch has been suspended ever since we got back."

JJ looked shocked, "That's what he was talking about? I thought he was kidding."

Emily nodded with a frown on her face, "He took the bullet for Gideon when he took the blame for that girl's suicide. Gideon told us to release the unsub, not Hotch. He lied to Strauss to save Gideon's ass." She walked over to her living room and sat down on the couch with a sigh.

Following her, the two blondes took a seat on the couch with JJ closest to Emily, "By the way, what was up with skipping work this week, girl? I got a panicked text from Pen this morning and I had to reassure her that I was indeed coming back."

Penelope looked relieved once JJ finally broached the topic that she had been dying to talk about, "We can't lose you too! Gideon may be MIA, but Hotch is coming back. We've just been getting to know you…" Garcia's voice trailed off.

Emily twirled her wine glass in her hand, "I just had to take a few personal days, that's all. Family stuff."

Garcia might have bought it, but JJ had worked closer with the woman seated in front of her. She didn't believe it.

Changing the subject, Emily set her empty glass down on the coffee table, "So, are you guys satisfied that I'm ok?"

Looking the profiler up and down, Garcia nodded, "I guess for now. I'm gonna use your loo and then JJ and I can be off." She got up and left, leaving Emily and JJ alone.

Emily started talking as soon as Garcia was out of earshot, "JJ, I know you didn't believe me for a second, but please, don't say anything. I'm under a lot of pressure right now and its best for you guys if everyone stays out of it." Emily's eyes were pleading with her.

JJ pursed her lips, "I noticed you never said you were coming back either. You just said you had to take a few days off."

"I'm thinking about a lot of things and I'm not sure where I'm going to go yet," was the vague answer Emily gave.

Before getting up, JJ reached over and squeezed Emily's knee, "Call me if you need to talk. Anytime, ok? You're a part of this team now just as much as anyone else."

Emily smiled and nodded before taking their three glasses to the kitchen.

* * *

JJ strolled into the bullpen the next day with a grim look on her face and a full thermos of coffee in her hand. She had looked over the case file extensively the night before and it didn't look good. Not that any of the cases they took were particularly good, per se, but she just hated cases that involved women her age. The problem was that was the majority of the cases she and the team worked.

It didn't help that all four women that have been murdered were blonde.

JJ got almost two steps into the door before she was again bombarded by the blonde technical analyst.

Penelope spoke in a hushed whisper, "You need to come to my lair, right now. It's urgent." She looked like she was barely holding it together.

Trying to calm her best friend down, she replied, "I'll be right there, Pen. I just have to make copies of these first." She gestured to the case file in her hands that needed to be copied for the other members of her team.

Garcia latched onto the nearest federal agent, which unfortunately for him, happened to be Agent Anderson. He nearly dropped his coffee mug when Garcia shouted, "Anderson! Make like seven copies of this and put them on Agent Jareau's desk when you're done, ok?" She shoved the case file into Anderson's empty hand.

He looked extremely confused and JJ shot him a sympathetic look and mouthed 'Sorry' before she was whisked away to Garcia's room filled with computers.

"Pen, you really need to be nicer to Anderson. Nobody really is and after what happened with Elle…"

Garcia cut her off, "Now is not the time for that JJ. You need to see what alerted me and my babies this morning and what caused me to come in to the office at this ungodly hour."

"It's only eight, Garcia." JJ rolled her eyes after looking at her watch.

"I've been here since six!"

JJ focused her attention back on the blonde who was currently typing furiously at her computers, "What the hell made you come in at that time for?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you! Now could you please shut up and read this?" Garcia snapped before pulling JJ towards one screen and pointing.

It was a list of the members of BAU team one and their latest paperwork that had been filed on each team member individually.

JJ scanned the list, skipping over herself and the psych evaluation that she knew was there after her ordeal in Georgia with Reid.

Reid's last paperwork was much the same as hers, so no red flags popped up there.

Morgan's last filing was about his arrest and run-in with the authorities in Chicago, which had been cleared.

Penelope's was just a routine evaluation, still nothing to be concerned about.

Gideon's was a blank psych eval that needed to be done still, after his battle with Frank, but he hadn't come in to do it yet.

What was interesting were the most recent filings that were on the bottom of the list. Two new documents had been submitted at around six o'clock that very same morning.

Next to Aaron Hotchner's name was a completely filled out document requesting a transfer and next to Emily Prentiss' was an equally complete document of resignation.

JJ's eyes bugged out of her head, "What?"

Garcia collapsed into her chair and wailed, "I know, Jay. What the hell! As soon as Emily walks into this building, my computers are going to tell me and I'm going to intercept her before she can talk to boss man, if he is even our boss man still."

JJ frowned, "I had no idea…"

"Me either, sweet cheeks. Sorry for jumping you again, but I had to tell someone…I've been messing with the internal server so their paperwork won't go through but I can only do it for so long without someone getting suspicious."

"I'm going to call her," JJ whipped out her cell and dialed Emily's number. It didn't even ring once but went straight to voicemail. Garcia heard the unsuccessful attempt and dialed on her office phone. She got the same result.

Still stunned, JJ spoke up, "I don't know what to tell you, Pen, but I have to go brief whatever team we have left. The plane leaves in two hours."

Garcia nodded, "I know. I'll try to fix this. We're a family. You can't just split up family, you know."

JJ patted Garcia on the back before exiting the room and heading back to her own office. She met Anderson on the way, looking extremely nervous.

He saw her coming and looked down immediately, "Here you go, ma'am. Seven copies plus your original." Anderson handed back the stack of neatly copied files that he'd even put in tan FBI folders already.

She grabbed them from him and stopped him before he could sprint away, "Sorry about that, Anderson. Garcia can be a little pushy at times. Thank you though."

Anderson smiled, "Anytime, ma'am," and walked away.

JJ walked to the bullpen and motioned with her hands to Morgan that they had a briefing. He nodded and held up a finger, signaling that he'd be there in a minute. JJ then looked around for Reid, noticing for the first time that she hadn't seen him yet that morning.

She started walking towards the briefing room and happened a glance in Gideon's office. The boxes upon boxes in the small room always made her feel claustrophobic. She stopped dead when she saw Reid passed out in a chair among those boxes. JJ made her way in and around the mess before trying to wake him up, "Reid?" She questioned.

Reid immediately blinked his eyes and sat up straighter. "What are you doing here?" She asked him.

He pulled the strap to his bag over his shoulder and stretched a little, checking the time on his watch, "Gideon didn't answer his phone. I called him twice."

"Have you been here all night?"

Reid pointed at the chess board that she hadn't noticed amongst the piles of paperwork, "We were supposed to play chess."

"Here?" JJ scoffed. She wouldn't come back to this place after hours unless someone's life depended on it.

Nodding, Reid explained, "Well…he hasn't gone back to his apartment…since…" He trailed off and JJ nodded, understanding what he was talking about.

"I need to brief the team, so…" She held up the files in her hand.

"Is Hotch here?" Reid yawned.

JJ glanced at her watch, "He's not due for a half hour." If he still worked here anymore. JJ honestly had no idea what was going on.

She followed Reid into the briefing room and started laying out the folders. She was just about to sit down when Morgan walked in and stopped, "What, no Hotch now no Gideon?"

JJ looked down at the tablet in her hand, "No not yet."

"You know, these guys have been out for a while. The least they could do is be on time."

"Yeah, because you're never late," Reid piped up.

JJ cracked a smile as she looked over at Morgan.

Morgan ignored his joke, "So where's Prentiss?"

She shrugged, "Her phone keeps going straight to voicemail." JJ had a vague idea that she knew where Emily was too. Not here anymore.

Morgan threw his pen down on the table, "Well this room just keeps gettin' smaller and smaller now doesn't it."

Reid glanced at his watch, "So, do we wait fifteen minutes?"

JJ shook her head as she glanced at the door, "We can just brief them on the plane," She said before launching into the file.

* * *

They got done with the briefing within ten minutes and the trio split up to grab their go-bags and head to the plane.

Reid had already left the building and Morgan was on his way to the elevator when JJ stopped at Hotch's office, witnessing the heated exchange between the younger profiler and their newly reappeared boss.

She saw Hotch shake Morgan's hand and then enter the bullpen, on his way somewhere in a hurry. She caught his eye as he strolled quickly to Strauss' office. All she got was a brief head nod before he disappeared.

After running to her office and grabbing her go-bag, JJ went to go out the double glass doors exiting the BAU. Pressing the down button on an elevator, she waited patiently until the doors in front of her opened.

She wasn't ready for them to open and reveal the other missing agent on the team, Emily Prentiss.

Emily was about to walk away quickly, lost in her own thoughts, but JJ reached out and grabbed her arm, "Em, what are you doing?"

The older profiler jumped but didn't look up at JJ, "I've just got to go talk to Hotch for a second…"

JJ still hadn't let go of her arm, "Why did you resign?"

Emily sighed, "It's a long story."

Knowing that she wasn't going to reveal her motives, JJ dropped her hand, "Well I'm very sad to see you go."

JJ turned to get on the elevator but this time, it was Emily that stopped JJ. She enveloped the blonde in a hug, whispering, "Me too," before walking off morosely to Strauss' office.

* * *

Morgan, Reid, and JJ didn't get very far the first day in Milwaukee. They were still a little distracted by the absence of their team members and the overbearing presence of their section chief, Agent Strauss. She had already reprimanded JJ once, for something completely out of context. All JJ was trying to do was inform the older woman about what was usually done and she had gotten yelled at as a result.

At the moment she was laying on her hotel bed trying to remember why she was doing this job in the first place. There was no way the team could survive with just her, Morgan and Reid. She was sure as hell never going on a case with Strauss again either.

Her phone ringing disrupted her train of thought. It was almost eleven at night and she was exhausted, not really up to having a phone conversation with anybody.

Not bothering to look at the caller ID, she assumed it was something to do with the case, "Agent Jareau."

"Ma'am, this is Detective LaMontagne from New Orleans PD."

JJ laughed and leaned back on her bed, "Sorry, I didn't look before I answered."

"I noticed. How's it going?"

She sighed, "Well, it's only me, Morgan, and Reid. Oh and Strauss, can't forget about her. We haven't really gotten anywhere yet."

"Man, stuck in Milwaukee with only Spencer Reid and Derek Morgan. Should I be worried?" Will teased.

"Yes, so very worried. Actually, Reid is in my bathroom as we speak, so can we wrap up this convo?"

JJ heard a little laugh on the other end of the phone, "Nothing on Emily, Hotchner or Gideon?"

"Emily resigned, Hotch is requesting a transfer and Gideon is still just a no-show."

"Wow, that escalated quickly."

Curling up on the bed, JJ answered, "Yeah, I know. I wish they were all here. Strauss has been riding my ass all day."

"About what?" Will snapped. He always got defensive when it came to people giving her a hard time, even when he didn't know the story.

"She was hounding the lead detective on the case and asking why the BAU hadn't been called in sooner. I politely took her aside and told her that wasn't how we do things here. She proceeded to interrupt me and tell me never to question her again before stalking off to resume bashing on the detective."

Will let out a whistle, "Glad you didn't bring her to Louisiana."

"She would have had your head for flirting with one of her agents."

"Like I said, glad you didn't bring her."

She smiled, "I should probably go to bed. Have to be up early you know." Glancing at the clock and remembering she was in a different time zone, JJ reprimanded him, "Will, it's past midnight for you! What are you doing up?"

JJ heard him shuffling around, "I wanted to hear your voice again."

She frowned, "You say that every time."

"It's true every time," He retorted. The frown was still on her face as she was trying to think of what to say back to him.

"I've been thinkin'," Will started, wondering if it was still too soon to breach this subject.

"About what?" JJ didn't like the hesitant tone of voice he had just used. Was he done with her already? Done with waiting for her free weekends? Done with all of the late night phone calls?

She was so worried that she almost missed his next sentence, "I want to move to D.C."

"What?" She choked out. He wanted to move by her? She was completely prepared for the opposite.

"I love you, Jay. I live for the weekends that you come over. I'm tired of wakin' up to a bed that you're not in. Life is short, Jen. I want to spend mine with you," Will spit all of that out, afraid of what she was going to say.

JJ was speechless. Never before had she had anyone say anything remotely like what she had just heard come out of Will's mouth. "You want to move by me? Why would you want to do that? You have your entire life down there, Will. I could never ask you to give that all up for me."

Will had a smile on his face. She hadn't rejected him, and that was a step in the right direction. "Jay, I told you why. I love you. I don't want to have to fly in a plane for two hours whenever I want to see the love of my life. At most all I should have to do is roll over in bed to see your face! I know you would never ask me to move. That's why I'm offering."

JJ sighed, "Will, I love the whole romance thing, but I can't let you give up your entire life in New Orleans to come and live with me. It wouldn't be fair."

"Well I'll let you sleep on it and get back to me, how 'bout that?"

"That's not going to change my answer, William!"

"Ooh, William now, huh? I am in trouble."

"Yes you are! I can't believe you would even think of giving up your entire life, just for me. I'm not worth it."

Will bit his tongue, pissed at all of her past relationships that made her feel not worth this. This was the very least he could do to show her that he was serious and she didn't think she was worth it.

"Will?" JJ said, her voice small.

"Yeah, hun?"

"I do love you, you know."

"I know that. You know the feeling is mutual, babe."

"This conversation is not done."

'It certainly isn't,' Will thought. He didn't voice that though, instead saying, "We'll talk about it later."

"Talk to you soon."

"Very."

They both hung up at the same time and they both stayed in the same positions as when they had been on the phone for quite some time, contemplating what the other had said.

* * *

JJ was sitting at a table in the station going over the details of the case while Morgan, Reid, and the lead detective were examining the maps taped up on the walls to her right. Strauss was sitting right across from JJ and hadn't left her alone all day. They'd had to interview several victims' families together and JJ had had enough of being with her boss. She was nothing like Hotch.

Morgan could feel the tension radiating between the two blonde women sitting at the table and motioned for Reid to sit down with them.

JJ spoke up once everyone sat down. Something had been eating at her ever since she had spoken with the victims' family.

"Is it possible that we're looking at this the wrong way?"

Strauss immediately glared in her direction, "What do you mean?"

JJ tried to talk to Morgan and Reid and ignore the useless body in front of her, "We're trying to zero in on the unsub. Now, you guys tell me, but if he really is using his son, wouldn't the trauma manifest more clearly on the boy?"

All three BAU members looked at her with admiration, well, save for Strauss. She didn't look impressed at anything.

Morgan's eyebrows raised and he leaned forward, but Strauss interrupted him, "Can your analyst get a list of kids in the area that we're targeting?"

"Garcia can get you whatever you want," Morgan replied.

Strauss dialed Penelope's number and we all waited for her to pick up.

No one was expecting what they were about to be greeted with however.

"Talk dirty to me."

Strauss looked appalled and Morgan tried to run interference but the older woman talked over him, "This is section chief Erin Strauss."

JJ leaned back in her chair with a smirk on her face. Thank God for someone else getting yelled at, even if it had to be Pen.

There was silence on the other end of the line and then, "Ma'am, I think it goes without saying that I was expecting it to be someone else." JJ could practically see Garcia's mortified face.

Strauss ignored her, "I need a list of every grade school in the third ward in Wauwatosa."

JJ and Morgan exchanged a look, the former trying not to laugh and the latter trying to cover up his embarrassment.

"Yes, ma'am." They heard Garcia sit down and start typing, "The third ward has one public grade school but there appears to be four private schools that draw from that area."

"And Wauwatosa?"

"That would be nine…ma'am."

"And how many students?"

"3,200."

"Can you also get me a list of every guidance counselor that deals with the student body in that area?"

"Certainly, ma'am," Penelope continued, "And again, I'd like to ap-"

Strauss hung up, "You need to present these counselors with a profile of a troubled kid."

She was back to business like nothing had happened even though, if it was possible, Morgan's face would have been flushed a deep red.

* * *

JJ and Reid went around to several schools while Morgan went solo. All they had succeeded in getting was hundreds upon hundreds of files of students which all had to be gone through.

They had brought back all of the files and had just started going through them when Reid exclaimed, "Look who's here!"

Derek had been keeping Hotch up to date with the latest information on the case, but it was still a shock to see their old unit chief and their former teammate walk through the doors of the Milwaukee police station.

Emily waltzed through the door and took a seat next to JJ, "Hey, where do we start? How fast can you get us up to speed?" Hotch had followed her through the door and shaken hands with Morgan.

"How fast can you sit down?" JJ replied while distributing folders to the newcomers.

Emily smiled up at JJ but their reunion was interrupted by the return of their section chief. She was not happy.

"We're only here to help," Emily started before Strauss could say a word.

She pursed her lips, "We'll deal with this later."

Emily raised a brow when she looked in JJ's direction, but the blonde just smirked.

After about a half an hour of reading through files, Strauss left for another cup of coffee and Hotch came over to talk to JJ, "Thank you for giving Garcia this file to give to me."

JJ was confused. She hadn't seen Garcia since the analyst had frantically pulled her away from the bullpen, "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't see Garcia before I left."

Hotch just dove back into the case file, mentally reminding himself to thank Garcia later.

They got a call a few hours later about a body being found in an alley. The entire team went out to evaluate the scene.

With an almost mental breakdown from Strauss and figuring out nothing new, all JJ had to do at the crime scene was restrain the now ex-husband from seeing his former wife.

After another change of attack, they eventually found the unsub through his son who he was using to abduct his victims.

JJ had had to help Emily out of the basement where she had been hit over the head with a block of wood. The blood running down her head had made JJ concerned but Emily reassured her that she was fine. The entire team was exhausted but, even with all of the questions Morgan, Reid, and JJ had for Hotch and Prentiss, nobody wanted to talk with the overbearing presence of Erin Strauss sucking the life out of the plane. Hotch had said he wasn't going to leave the BAU and Emily said she was glad to be back, but that meant nothing considering they both had left the day before.

* * *

JJ got back to her house at around eleven Friday night. It had taken them all of Wednesday, Thursday and half of Friday to solve their latest case. She walked in and noticed a light on in her kitchen, which she thought she had turned off but apparently not.

Walking over to turn off the light, she jumped in fright and almost drew her weapon before realizing that it was Will in her kitchen eating cereal and not some crazy psycho.

"Hey, hun," Will put his dirty dishes in the sink and walked over to her, wrapping her up in his arms.

After the initial shock of finding someone in her house unexpected, JJ allowed herself to relax into his embrace. "You should probably warn me next time if you come over when I'm not around. I almost shot you."

Will laughed, "I have a few weeks off, so I thought, who better to spend it with than my gorgeous girlfriend?"

JJ rested her chin on his chest, looking up at him, "Well I have the weekend off, hopefully, so that'll be good." She winked at him.

Smiling Will finally leaned down to kiss her, drinking in everything about her that he had missed for the past three days.

JJ wasn't in the mood for slow and pushed him up against the counter, pressing into him. Will pulled apart and laughed, "Yeah, Jay?"

She stared up at him, "Is it pathetic that I saw you on Wednesday but I still missed you like crazy?"

Will started walking them towards her bedroom, "Not pathetic at all." He leaned down to kiss her neck.

Grabbing his jaw and lifting it up, she scolded him, "Nuh uh! Not happening! Do you remember anything?"

He smirked and pushed her up against the wall outside her bedroom and pinning her to it. JJ's breath hitched as he moved closer, "I remember some things."

Their lips crashed together and Will's hands roamed up and down her sides, stopping extremely high up on her rib cage. JJ looped her hands around his neck, pulling him closer. They pulled apart when the need for air overcame the want to be close to each other.

JJ's eyes betrayed her as they almost fluttered shut from exhaustion as she leaned against the wall. Will just smiled and pulled her closer, lifting her up and urging her to wrap her legs around him. "Time for bed."

She sighed while gripping his broad shoulders, "I'm sorry I'm always so tired."

He laid them both down on the bed and brushed her hair out of her face, "It's fine, Jay. If I was in this just for the sex, I'd be more worried," He winked, "But I'm not, so you have nothing to worry about."

JJ groaned as she got up and changed into her pajamas, "We should go out on a real date, Will. We never do that."

Will tunneled under the covers and leaned back, his hands behind his head, "You name the date and time, I'll come sweep you off of your feet and take you anywhere."

She got back in bed and snuggled into him, smiling, "Sounds like a deal. "

Pulling her closer to him, he finally felt relaxed, "Make it soon. I don't wanna wait."

JJ rested her head down on his chest, closing her eyes, "Mmhmm," she mumbled.

They both fell asleep, content with how the day ended.

* * *

**As always, reviews are awesome. Don't be afraid to leave suggestions either!**


End file.
